
Ita*e«r 










i6$a 



THE STATE 



OK 



Vv^YOMING 






An Official Publication Containing Relia- 
ble Information Concerning the 
Resources of the State. 



COMPILED BY 

CHARLES W. BURDICK, 

Secretary of State. 



Cheyenne: 
sun-leader printing house. 



h 7/o\ 




By transfer 

im 10 19k': 



ONTE^TS 




PAGE 

Introduction 5 

Wyoming . . .* 7 

Albany County — 

Bv Geo. W. Fox , . . , 9 

Big Horn County — 

By W. D. Pickett 13 

Carbon County — 

By J. F. Crawford 18 

Converse County 22 

Crook County — 

By Milo A. Adams 24 

Fremont County — 

By C. G. Coutant 27 

Johnson County 29 

Laramie County — ■.■'- ^,u.,-.: -.f? 

By Robt. C. Morris .^ ^ i 

Natrona County — *** 

By Marion P. Wheeler , 35 

vSheridan County — 

By E. Gillette 37 

Sweet^yater County 40 

Uinta County — 

By George S. Marx 42 

Weston County 45 

Agricultural Deyclopment — 

. By Elwood Mead 47 

Taxes and Public Indebtedness 61 

Mineral Resources — 

By Wilbur C. Knight, 63 



-(^^i>H 



4 STATE OF WYOMING. 

PAGE 

A Catalogue of Wyoming Minerals — 

By Wilbur C. Knight 73 

Output of Coal in Wyoming 78 

Banking Facilities and Interest Rates So- 

Horticulture — 

By B. C. Buffum..... Si 

Wages and Cost of Living 91 

Public Buildings and Institutions 93, 

Wyoming Indians — 

By Joseph A. Breckons 96- 

Educational advantages — 

Estelle Reel 100 

Suffrage Qualifications 106 

Climate of W^yoming — 

By W. S. Palmer 106 

Railroad and Telegraph Facilities '. 110 

Live Stock — 

By A. A. Holcomb 113 

Government Lands and How the Same May be Acquired-^ 

By W. E. Chaphn 114 

Public Libraries 119 

State Lands and How^ They May be Acquired — 

By A. J. Parshall 120 

Stock Companies — Fees 125 

Hovsr to Secure the Use of Water for Irrigation. 126 

The Mining Laws — 

By J. A. Van Orsdel 12S 

Property Valuation for 1896 and 1S97 , 135 

Post Offices 136 

List of Newspapers. 139 

The Yellowstone National Park — 

George S. Marx 140 

Hunting and Fishing — Closed Season 141 

Brief Notes 1^4 

Elevation of Wyoming Cities ; 147 

Altitude of Mountains 148^ 



INTRODUCTORY. 



Introductory 



Office of the Secretary of State, 
Cheyenne, Wyo., July 15, 1898. 

Under the provisions of Chapter 34, Session Laws of i! 
the Secretary of state is authorized to prepare; pubUsh and dis- 
tribute all such useful information as is designed to convey 
correct and full information on all matters pertaining to the 
growth and development of the agricultural, manufacturing, 
comrnercial, stock and mining- interests of the state; and pur- 
suant to the provisions of that statute, the present volume has 
been prepared. Its purpose, as expressed in the statute, is to 
secure a liberal and extensive advertisement of the resources and 
that class of persons who are looking to the west as a possi- 
ble future home, or looking to the same locality for oppor- 
tunities of investing surplus capital, such facts and information 
as persons under those circumstances ordinarily desire. 

Within the limits of such a volume as the statute contem- 
plates, it would be impossible to present detailed . information 
concerning all of the varied resources of the state, and therefore 
the effort has been confined to a summary of the particular ad- 
vantages of each county, together with a comprehensive article 
upon particular resources or industries of the state, each article 
having been prepared by a person well quahfied by training, 
experience and observation to treat the subject assigned to 
him. 

In this respect every statement made may be regarded as 
from an official source, and the strictest reliability, without sus- 
picion of exaggeration, has been sought, with a hope that all 
persons interested in the State of Wyoming into whose hands 



6 STATE OF WYOMING. 

this little publication may fall, will discover from its general 
tone that, if anything, it under-estimates rather than over-esti- 
mates the advantages and resources of the state. 

If the publication meets with the approval of the people of 
the state, and brings, as I hope it will, benefit to the state, by 
setting forth in readable and attractive form, its many resources, 
the credit for the result is due mainly to the co-operation which 
has been so wilHngly given by the many contributors whose 
names precede the several articles prepared by them. To these 
and also to many others, the thanks of this department are due 
and their services are gratefully acknowledged. 

CHARLES W. BURDICK, 

Secretarv of State. 




OUR STATE. 



\a/yoa\ing. 



Wyoming was organized as a territory July 25, 1868, from 
what was then the southwestern portion of Dakota, northeast- 
ern part of Utah, and eastern part of Idaho. On July 10, 1890, 
the territory was admitted as a state by act of Congress, being 
the forty-fourth state in order of admission. 

Its geographical location classes it among the states of the 
inter-mountain or arid region, being bounded on the north by 
Montana, on the east by Dakota and Nebraska, on the south by 
Colorado and Utah, and on the w^est by Utah, Idaho and Mon- 
tana. Its length from east to west is 355 miles; width from 
north to south 276 miles, and it has an area of 97,890 square 
miles, or 62,645,120 acres. 

Tlie region now compriseci within the limits of the state 
was early explored by Canadian explorers and other venture- 
some persons, but the first white settlement appears to have 
been established at Fort Laramie, in the eastern part of the 
state, in the year 1834. Subsequently trading posts were es- 
tablished in other localities, and still later the building of the 
Union Pacific railroad and the adaptation of the western coun- 
try to the cattle business led to further, settlement. 

In generaj appearance the country is mountainous, with 
valleys, rolling plains and plateaus, the latter covered with 
grasses of great nutrition and furnishing admirable pasture for 
live stock, while the mean elevation is 6,000 feet above sea 
level, with extremes ranging from 3,000 to 14,000 feet. Prob- 
ably ten million acres of the total area of the state are covered 
with timber. 

Flowing east or west, according as their source is on the 
eastern or western slope of the main range of the Rocky Moun- 
tains which cross the state from north to south, are numerous 
streams, among the number being the North Platte, Snake 
River, Green River and the Yellowstone. None of these 
streams are navigable in a commercial sense, but they furnish 
water for the irrigation and development of the surrounding 



8 STATE OF WYOMING. 

country and in some instances are used for the transportation of 
timber. 

The soil is a Hght sandy loam, darker and richer in the 
valleys. When reduced by the application of water, bountiful 
returns of agricultural products, with the exception of such as 
thrive only at low altitudes and warm, damp climates, are se- 
cured. It is estimated that ten million acres of the area of the 
state are suitable for agricultural purposes by irrigation. 

There are thirteen Counties, tour Judicial Districts, four 
Irrigation Districts, many School Districts, but no township 
organization. The capital is located at Cheyenne, in the south- 
eastern corner of the state. 

The climate is similar to that of the mountain region gen- 
erally^ and is not, as sometimes erroneously supposed, extraor- 
dinarily severe in the winter. The average mean temperature 
for the year is about 44 degrees, varying somewhat according 
to elevation, and the atmosphere is pure and rarified, with but 
few cloudy days. High winds sometimes prevail during the 
spring and fall, but cyclones and tornadoes are unknown, while 
the dryness of the atmosphere tends to ameliorate the effects of 
extreme cold. Snow storms are usually followed by high 
winds, which serve to uncover the pastures so that live stock 
get the benefit of the grasses cured by the previous summer's 
sun, and as the cured native grasses retain their nutrition, it en- 
ables the stockman to support his stock upon the open range 
with little additional food. The severity and frequency of 
western blizzards has been largely exaggerated, so that some 
people consider the western climate as synonymous with con- 
stant storms, dangerous to life. Nothing could be farther 
from the truth, and but few chmates are more bracing, health- 
ful or pleasant than the climate of the mountain region of the 
Western States. The .almost constant sunlight is not only 
pleasant, but beneficial from a sanitary standpoint, and it is a 
well recognized fact in the medical profession that certain dis- 
eases, notably pulmonary affections, are much benefited by 
change from the States of lower altitudes to Wyoming or adja- 
cent States. 

Coal mining and raising live stock are the two most impor- 
tant business interests of the State. As will be noticed else- 
where in this publication, the supply of coal underlying the 
state is apparently inexhaustible, and constant employment is 
furnished to a great many miners. The raising of live stock, 
however, in its various departments, probably claims the atten- 
tion of more people than any other industry, and the facilities 
for prosecuting that business are such as to commend it to the 



ALBANY COUNTY. 9 

attention of prospective settlers. It is a noticeable feature of 
the present condition of the state than many of the former large 
herds of cattle have of recent years been reduced without, 
however, materially reducing the total number of cattle in the 
State, while the number of small herds owned by ranchmen and 
farmers has largely increased, and it is doubtful if any other 
State can show an agricultural population whose financial con- 
dition averages better than that of Wyoming's ranchmen. 
Many are here to testify to the benefits and profits derived by 
them fiom the use of the free pasture lands of the open range, 
with its. nutritious native grasses, the opportunities of acquir- 
ing government land, cheap fuel and healthy climate, and the 
large area of the State in proportion to the present population 
is sufficient evidence that opportunities by which others have 
heretofore profited still offer to the prospective settler. 



ALBANY COUNTY 



BY HON. GEO. W. FOX, 
State Senator. 

STATISTICS. — ^^Albany County, while the smallest Coun- 
ty in the State, is one of the most important in many respects. 
Situated in the southern part, joining the State of Colorado on ^ 
the south, Laramie County on the east. Carbon County on the* 
west, and Converse County on the north, its area embraces 
5,076 square miles, or 3,248,640 acres; of this 998,000 are listed 
for taxation, 336,000 as railway grant lands, and 662,000 by 
individuals; total County valuation, $3,673,660; total tax levy, 
including State, 20.2 mills; County bonded indebtedness, 
$142,000, bearing 6 per cent interest. The Laramie Plains 
comprise about one-half of the area of the county, being in the 
central part ; the Medicine Bow range of mountains being on 
the west of, the plains and the Black Hiils range on the east 
and north, terminating at the historical landmark, Laramie 



lo STATE OF WYOMING. 

Peak. The plains proper are at an altitude of about 7,000 feet# 
while the Medicine Bow range rises to the region of perpetual 
snow. 

The Union Pacific railroad extends through the county, 
its mileage being 95.49 miles, and valued for assessment pur- 
poses at $872,778.60. 

COUNTY SEAT AND PRINCIPAL TOWN.— Lara- 
mie, the principal town and county seat, is situated at the junc- 
tion of the railroad and the Big Laramie river, near the central 
portion of the plains. The population is 7,000. There is 
located the University of Wyoming, an institution in which the 
whole S^ate is deeply interested. The faculty is composed of 
educators of eminent ability in their several branches; the 
S.chool of Mines gives a thorough course in mineralogy and 
assaying; the Agricultural College department runs an exper- 
imental farm in connection with the institution, demonstrating 
that farming and the raising of nearly all of the agricultural 
products can be carried on profitably on the mountain plateaus 
at this high altitude. 

The city is lighted by electricity, and has a fine system of 
free waterworks. Several saw mills in the adjacent mountains 
supply native lumber for all purposes. Brick is made of good 
quality, and building stone of good cojlor' and excellent quality 
is found in abundance near the citv. The University and Cathe- 
dral, two very fine structures, are built of the native stone. 

The State Fish Hatchery, an institution of great value to 
the State in supplying and stocking the many different streams 
of the State with game fish, is located a short distance from the 
city on one of the mountain streams. 

The State Penitentiary is located at the western city limits 
on the banks of the Laramie River. 

SCHOOLS. — The county has a fine public school system, 
the number of schools being twenty-five, and the number of 
children of school age 1,352. The High School at Laramie is 
• the equal of rhany similar institutions in larger cities. 

MANUFACTURING.— The Laramie Steel and Iron 
Company is the largest manufacturing concern in the state, 
owning and operating a well-equipped rolling mill and machine 
shop. This company gives constant employment to one hun- 
dred and fifty men, turning out a large tonnage of merchant 
iron and railway supplies. 

The Standard Cement Plaster Company has a fine plant 
and an unlimited supply of material from which to manufacture 
its product, which is shipped both east and west in large quan- 
tities. 



ALBANY COUNTY. ii 

The Rocky Mountain Plaster Company at Red Buttes has 
a plant of large capacity and makes a fine grade of white finish 
from the gypsum beds in that vicinity. 

At Laramie is located a substantial glass manufacturing 
plant, with all the ingredients for the manufacture of glass in 
the immediate vicinity. The operation of the plant proved the 
superiority of the materials, but lack of capital has compelled 
the suspension of the enterprise for the time being. There is 
a grand opportunity here now for glass making by men of ex- 
perience and sufficient capital to operate the plant. 

The Flouring Mill erected before the panic of 1893 has 
been idle since that date, but with the increased acreage of grain 
being planted this year, it is proposed to offer inducements to 
the right party to operate it in the future. 

The Haley Creamery at Oasis (or Wyoming station) is a 
flourishing institution. Its product, which is large, finds a 
ready market and is an index of what may be done in that line. 

LIVE STOCK. — The principal industrial wealth of the 
county is in its grazing and live stock interests, cattle, sheep 
and horses leading in the order named. There were at the 
last general assessment 24,200 head of cattle, 51,200 sheep, and 
7.080 horses, in all assessed at $502,773. 

AGRICLLTIIRE. — Agriculture is being more extensi\e- 
ly engaged in now^ than in years past. A large amount of 
wheat, oats and barley are produced annually and command a 
higher price than in any other market. The oats, especially, 
are well filled and weigh from forty to forty-five pounds to the 
bushel. This valley ofifers a good inducement for an oatmeal 
mill on account of the superior quality of the native oats. Hay 
is the principal crop. It is cut from native grasses, the crop 
being matured by irrigation, and is quite generally fed during 
the winter season. Large numbers of fat beeves are annually 
shipped to market in the spring months, having had no other 
feed but the native hay, which possesses nutritive qualities of 
high order. 

MINING. — Mining for the precious met?.ls has greater 
promise now of coming to the front and supplanting all other 
industries than it has had heretofore. The Medicine Bow 
range is strictly a mineral bearing formation. Fine ore crop- 
pings are found distributed throughout its entire area. There 
are the Jelm Mountain, Keystone. Centennial, La Plata, French 
Creek, CopDer Hill, and Three Mile districts, all of fine promise, 
it being difficult to distinguish which is best, as the character 
of the ores are different. In some localities the gold predom- 
inates, in others lead, silver, copper, etc. Some high grade 



12 STATE OF WYOMING. 

ore has been shipped, enough to demonstrate that systematic 
development will in the future unearth fortunes. Every creek 
heading towards the snowy range contains placer gold. Doug- 
las Creek, French Creek, Lake Creek, Muddy Creek and nu- 
merous others are known to be rich in the precious metal. Ex- 
tensive preparations are now under way for working these 
creeks and tributaries with expensive hydraulics and dredging 
machinery, large .amounts of capital having been invested in 
them. The Black Hills range are also extensively mineralized, 
showing quartz carrying goild, silver, copper, etc. 

Near the head ol the Sybille Canyon the largest deposit 
of plumbago to be found in the United States is located, the 
quality from the surface is marketable, whii'le some of the foli- 
ated varieties are very valuable. In this district there are 
some extensive ochre beds which only require a mill to produce 
an unlimited quantity of superior paint. 

Asbestos is found in the northern part of the county in 
large deposits. The quality from surface prospects is not the 
best, but is suitable for the manufacture of paint and many 
other uses. 

The natural soda deposits, twelve miles south of Laramie, 
are of very large extent, and the product- has been to ^some ex- 
tent utilized in glass making, the product, when calcined, being 
superior to the imported article. 

The mining possibiilities of Albany county are such that It 
is safe to predict in the future this line of industry will supplant 
all others. 

CLIMATE. — The climate during the summer months is 
perfect, the nights being cool and the days not excessively hot; 
the winter months are dry and the cold is not severe. Live 
stock winter on the open plains without sheilter. 

STREAMS. — The County is well watered by many fine 
streams. The Big and Little Laramie rivers are the largest, 
but there are numerous smaller streams of clear spring water, 
suitable for domestic use and irrigation purposes. 

FISHING. — Trout fishing is the great summer sport. 
There is no place in all the Rocky Mountains where trout are 
more abundant than in the headwaters of the Laramie Rivers. 
The streams have been stocked from the State Hatchery with 
all known kinds of the trout family. It is not uncommon to 
land trout weio-hing from six to eight pounds each. Resorts 
have been established on the rivers for the accommodation of 
sportsmen and their families who want to spend a few days in 
the wilds of the mountains. Those who seek these pleasure 



BIG HORN COUNTY. 13 

resorts come from various portions of the United States, and 
the number is on the increase from year to year. 

TIMBER. — On the Medicine Bow range, in the western 
part of tlie county, is found an abundance of spruce and pine 
timber of good quahty and convenient to the local market. 



BIG HORN COUNTY. 



BY HON. W. D. PICKETT. 

TOPOGRAPHY.— Big Horn, the last organized County 
of the State, consists of that portion of the northwestern corner 
known as the ''Big Horn Basin." This is one of the most re- 
markable basins, in many respects, situated on either side of 
the Great Continenta^l Divide. This is true, whether we con- 
sider its great area, thejofty mountains enclosing it on all sides 
except the north, its eq,uable climate or the fertility of its soil. 
On the east looms up the Big Horn range, some of its peaks 
rising 12,000 feet above sea level; on the west towers the 
equally high peaks of the Shoshone range, spurs of the Great 
Continental Divide; on the south is the Owl range, a spur of 
the continental divide connecting it with the southern end of 
the Big Horn range. The usual elevation of the divides con- 
necting these peaks is from 9,000 to 11,000 feet above sea level. 
Among these mountains are found some of the finest examples 
of mountain and canyon scenery to be seen on this continent. 

Passing centrally through this basin, in a northerly direc- 
tion, for more than one hundred miles, in its meandering, is 
the Big Horn river. Its entrance into the basin has been 
made in some past convulsion of nature through the Owl range, 
by an impassable canyon of about four miles "in length. Its 
exit from the basin to the north has been made by cutting 
through the northerly end of the Big Horn range by a very 
remarkable canyon of about twenty miles in length, its walls 



14 STATE OF WYOMING. 

rising almost vertically 1,200 to 1,500 feet above the water. In- 
termediate between these caiiyoas ihis river passes through 
Sheep mountain, a secondary and detached range, by a canyon 
of about three miles length, but equally as interesting as the 
other two. The Big Horn range west of its lower canyon, is 
designated Pry or Mountain, which gradually recedes in height 
until it drops to the level of the plain bordering the Clark's 
Fork of the Yellowstone. Around the base of this mountain 
is the natural outlet from the Big Horn Basin. The northern 
boundary of Big Horn county is the Montana state line (the 
45th parallel), which crosses the Lower Canyon just alluded 
to) about four mijles north of its upper or southern end. 

CLIMATE. — The topography of this county has thus 
been described so much in detail, because it is believed its ch- 
matology is much influenced by its prominent features. The 
moisture that is deposited in this basin is transported from the 
Pacific Ocean on westerly and southwesterly winds moving, 
at times, at high velocity. In passing over the conitnental 
divide and the mass of mountains lying west of its inner rim 
(some thirty to forty miles in width), a large percentage of its 
moisture in winter is deposited in snow. The residue is depos- 
ited within its inner rim, but not to such a depth as to mater- 
ially interfere with the grazing of stock. This is especially 
true of the western slope, as snow falls are generally followed 
by westerly winds that sweep the snow into the gulches. On 
the western slope the snowfall rarely exceeds six inches in 
depth at any one time, which is soon dissipated by wind. On 
the eastern s)lope there is not so much wind, and though the 
snowfall is not believed to be greater, it lies for longer periods 
and to greater depth, much to the benefit of agricultural crops 
in summer. The records of one of the voluntary weather 
bureau stations (situated at an elevation of about 6,c;oo feet) on 
the western slope, shows an average annual snowfall for the past 
four years of forty-seven and a half inches. Average annual 
precipitation for same period, eleven and nine-tenths inches. 
The lowest temperature for the same period was 28 degrees F. 
below zero; the highest temperature for the same period, 88 
degrees above zero, F. In the 'lower altitudes there is usua,ily 
somewhat lower temperatures in winter, and an extreme tem- 
perature of 100 to 105 degrees in shade during summer. By 
ascending from the lower to the higher altitudes, almost any 
climate can be obtained in summer. At an altitude of about 
6,000 feet, the summer temperature is about the same as that 
of Lower California in winter, except it is much dryer and more 
bracing. During winter the air is so drv and exhilerating- 



BIG HORN COUNTY. 15 

that temperatures trying at lower altitudes are not noticeably 
cold. Indeed, there is so much sunshine in winter that except 
for a few exceptionally cold days, it is frequently the pleasam- 
est season of the year. 

AREA. — As its topography indicates, the only practicable 
outlet at present for the trade of Big Horn county is to the 
north, into Montana, and to the Northern Pacific Railroad; 
either at Red Lodge, Montana, reached by good natural roads, 
within about one hundred miles from its center, or at Billings, 
Montana, by equally as good natural roads, though farther in 
distance. 

The area of this County is about one hundred miles square, 
or about 10,000 square miles. This includes a strip of about 
fifteen mijes' width on its western border, which has been con- 
stituted into a "Timber Reserve" by act of Congress. 

AGRICULTURE AND STOCK RAISING.— It is with- 
in bounds to assert that every square mile of this area, except 
a small percentage forming the slopes of the ' high mountain 
peaks, can be utilized in summer or winter for agriculture or 
the grazing of stock, as proven by the experience of ten years 
with cattle, horses and sheep, the high mountain plateaus with 
their intervening valleys, up to an elevation of 10,500 feet, in 
summer and until covered with snow in the fall, produce grass 
of sufficient fattening properties for summer feed. From ele- 
vations from 7,500 feet to 10,500 feet, all stock keep fat for four 
months of the year. Below 7,500 elevation, stock do well, 
summer and winter, with the rare exception of heavy snow- 
falls that are not followed by wind sufficient to bare the ground. 
This, of course, where the range is not over-stocked. 

AGRICULTURE.— Within the belt lying between 5,500 
and 6,500 feet elevation, with irrigation, timothy and red top 
do exceptionally well; alfalfa not so wejll, but producing two 
good cuttings. Below this belt alfalfa, with ordinary good 
management, will yield three good cuttings. Its seed comes 
to full maturity, and of good quality. All the small grains that 
have been experimented with, such as wheat, barley and oats, 
give large yields and of excellent quality. It is believed that 
in no locality of the world are these grains of superior quality 
or in larger yields per acre. Statistics could be produced to 
sustain this claim did space permit. Indian corn, in a favor- 
able season, produces well. All the roots, such as potatoes, 
carrots, rutabagas and beets of all kinds, thrive excellently well 
up to 6,500 feet elevation. It is not uncommon, where well 
cultivated, for beets and rutabagas to attain weights of ten to 
fifteen pounds and solid to the core. Of melons, the canta- 



i6 STATE OF WYOMING. 

loupe matures of excellent quality; so does the watermelon, 
though to less extent. On the advent of a railroad, it is be- 
ileved there is no better location for a sugar-beet factory west 
of the Missouri, than at some central point in this County, and 
of paying capacity. The potato is a large yielder and of qual- 
ity unsurpassed anywhere. Such garden vegetables as rad- 
ishes, lettuce, caulitiower, beans and peas, do well at all alti- 
titudes. Radishes, lettuce, and cauimower conic to high per- 
fection above 5,500 feet altitude and are of unsurpassed quality 
and flavor. 

HORTICULTURE.— All the small fruits, such as rasp- 
berries, currants, strawberries and gooseberries, grow wild, and 
where tame varieties have been tried, do well. 

POPULATION— COUNTY DEBT— TAXES.— On """ac- 
count of the absence of any railway facilities heretofore (the 
nearest railway point being at least 100 miles from its center), 
the population of this County is not large to area, but is increas- 
ing. It has at present about 3,500 souls. 

The taxable wealth at this time is about $1,100,000. The 
rate of taxation for 1898 is nineteen mills. The new county 
has no debt, except what it may inherit as its proportion of 
the debts of Sheridan, Johnson and Fremont Counties, from 
which Counties it was segregated on the first of January, 1897. 
The settlement of this question is now in the Courts, and a 
decision of the whole question by the Supreme Court of the 
State is looked for at any time. It i^ believed its share of the 
joint debt will be less than $20,000; a small debt, taking in 
view its present condition and future prospects. 

IRPJGATION. — In addition to the large volume of water 
delivered by the Big Horn river, running centrally through the 
County, iis large and numerous tributaries furnish a great su- 
perabundance of water for irrigating the large bodies of land 
that can be gotten under ditch. From the east flows Kirby, 
No Wood, and Shell creeks; from the west comes Owl creek 
and its much larger tributaries of Grey Bull and Wood rivers; 
then the two forks of the Stinking river, and still farther to the 
north the Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone. Only such por- 
tions of the irrigable ;lands that could be gotten under ditch at 
small cost have thus far been taken up. To such tracts add 
the quantity of land that, according to the estimate of the State 
Engineer, Mr. Elwood Mead, can be gotten under the various 
ditches contracted for or projected of over four hundred thou- 
sand acres, there is a grand total of a half million acres of as 
productive land as, according to his estimate, is found within 
the arid belt. To irrigate these large bodies of valuable land. 






f-i-.-^ 



^^S^^-rp^' 






i g 
2 

o 



!&<ui^-<s- ' .-'M^ifeJLI.C^. ™. 



BIG HORN COUNTY. 17 

cinches have either been contracted for, under the arid land law, 
or liave been projected. With these lands reclaimed, Big 
Horn county will be the richest agricultural county in the state. 
MINERALS. — In minerals the prospect is no less flatter- 
ing. Beds of coal of good quality outcrop in many parts of 
the county. On the east side are immense masses of gypsum, 
wliich also outcrop on the west side near Cody. It is believed 
thai large masses of iron ore exist in a locality accessible to a 
railroad when the railway system now projected through the 
county is completed. In the rim of the mountains enclosing 
this basin, prospects indicate many valuable mines of gold and 
silver. On the head of the Grey Bull river the Gold Reef 
Mining Company are boring a tunnel (now about 600 feet in 
length) towards a wide lead of gold bearing rock. On the 
head of Wood river are many leads of low grade silver ore, and 
some gold bearing rock. The wdl known Bald Mountain 
mines, on the west side, he partly in this county. Farther to 
the north the Sunlight mines are located, on the waters of the 
Clark's Fork. All these mines would become valuable proper- 
ties were there adequate railway facilities to develop them and 
carry off their products. 

STOCK. — On account of its well protected situation, the 
nutritious quality of its grasses, and its freedom from cold bliz- 
zards not uncommon in other parts of the northwest, this basin 
has long been the home of large herds of cattle. Of late years, 
however, these large herds have been cleared out, until only 
one or two remain. In 1897 the assessment showed 32,605 
head of cattle, 9,207 head of horses, and 55,489 head of sheep. 
In addition to these, however, there are about 100,000 head of 
sheep from Montana and the counties south, that have their 
summer range in the mountains and foothills on each side of 
the basin. Small herds of cattle are taking the place of the 
larger herds that have been dosed out. 

GAME AND FISH.— To the tourist and health seeker, 
this basin presents many attractions. Mountain trout abound 
in all the streams near the mountains; elk, deer and mountain 
sheep are fairly abundant in the mountains. Then there are 
the famous Big Horn Hot Springs in the southern border of 
the county, that are considered scarcely second to the famous 
Hot Springs of Arkansas, for a great variety of diseases and 
ailments. To those fond of mountain and canyon scenery, 
there will be found no greater attractions in the country. Be- 
sides the canyons of the Big Horn before mentioned, there is 
the Canyon of Clark's Fork of the Yellowstone, that is not sur- 
passed by the Block Canyon of the Arkansas, or even in mariy 



a8 STATE OF WYOMING. 

: respects by the Grand Can}-©!! of the Colorado. This streain 
for twelve miles has cut through a solid granite formation, its 
walls sometimes vertical at the lower end, attaining a height 
of" 1,500 feet above the water. Below this point, the canyon 
opens out for six miles, the highest peak on the east side being 
about 400 feet above the water in about one-half mile distance 
from the iron channel. 



CARBON COUNTY. 



BY J. F. CRAWFORD. 



Carbon county was organized in November, 1869. It 
then included all that portion of the Territory of Wyoming 
lying between a point one-half mile east of Aurora station, on 
the Union Pacific railroad, and the one hundred and seventh 
degree and thirty minutes west longitude, on the west, and the 
north and south boundaries of the territory. Sheridan, John- 
son and Natrona counties on the north have been organized 
out of territory taken from the northern portion of the county, 
and its area has been reduced from 22,000 square miles to 
11,061 square miles. It contains about 7,079,040 acres of land. 
Its population is approximately 9,000. 

Its county indebtedness is $144,000, and the rate of taxa- 
tion is 19.5 mills. The total number of acres listed for taxa- 
tion is 964,630.81, and the valuation of all real estate in the 
county, including town lots, is $1,144,247.85; total value of all 
assessable property in the county, $3,411,775.63. The Union 
Pacific railroad runs across the county from east to west, giv- 
ing 103.53 rniles of railroad, valued at $867,477. 

COUNTY SEAT AND PRINCIPAL TOWNS. 

. RAWLINS is on the Union Pacific railroad, and is the 
county seat of Carbon county. Altitude, about 7,000 feet. It 
has a population of about 2,500, is the western terminus of the 



CARBON COUNTY. . 19 

east and west mountain divisions of the road, and has round- 
houses and extensive machine shops. It is a distributing point 
for an outlying country, both north and south of the railroad. 
Daily and tri-weekly stages leave here for points north and 
south. The new State Penitentiary, costing $100,000, is located 
here, and it also has a substantial stone court house, a fine pub- 
lic school building, which cost, respectively, $50,000 and $35?- 
coo. It is incorporated, and its city indebtedness is $35,000. 

SARATOGA is situated on the North Platte river, twenty- 
eight miles south of Fort Steele, in the center of a beautiful 
valley;, population, about 400. Has a flouring mill, public 
library, two hote'Js, and good representation of merchandising 
establishments. Takes its name from the hot mineral springs 
of water formed there, the waters of which possess wonderful 
curative properties. It has a daily mail from Fort Steele, the 
nearest railroad point, and is the distributing mail point for 
the towns of Encampment, Collins, Bennett, Mead, French and 
Pearl, Colorado, and is an outfitting point for the Grand En- 
campment mines. 

FORT STEELE. — This town is si^ra+^^d on the site of the 
old fort known as Fort Fred Steele, on the North Platte river, 
at the point where that stream is crossed by the Union Pacific 
railioad. Has about 20^ in'-ahitPiits. It has a system of 
w'ater works, owned bv private Darbies. 

ENCAMPMENT.— This is a town of recent origin, 
brought forth by the prospects of the new gold fieilds discov- 
ered in the Grand Encampment district. It is situated on 
the Grand Encampment river, some twenty miles south of Sar- 
atoga. 4 

CARBON is located on the Union Pacific railroad, in the 
eastern part of the county, is a coal mining town of about 800 
inhabitants. It is incorporated, and is supported chiefly by 
the coal industry. 

MEDICINE BOW.— This town lies on the eastern bound- 
ary of the county, on the line of the Union Pacific railroad, and 
contains about 200 inhabitants. 

HANNA. — This is a coal mining town in the northeastern 
part of the county, reached by a spur from the Union Pacific 
road, which branches of¥ at Allen junction, three miles east of 
Medicine Bow. It has several hundred inhabitants, who are 
exclusively engaged in coal mining. 

DOGGETT is situated on the banks of the Grand En- 
campment river, twenty miles south of Saratoga, and is sup- 
ported by the adjacent mining and stock raising country. All 
kinds of business are represented. 



23 STATE OF WYOMING. 

Other towns of lesser note are Baggs, Dixon and Gilman, 
all situated in the extreme southern portion of the county. 

SCHOOLS. — The county contains a good pubUc school 
system. The number of schools is thirty-six, and the number 
of children of school age being i,ii8. 

LIVE STOCK. — One of the chief industries of the county 
up to the present time, is its live stock interests. Of sheep 
there were, for the year 1897, 366,525, valued at $658,641; of 
cattle, 18,972, valued at $254,704; horses and mule> there 
were 6,682, valued at $92,920; all other kinds of stock were 
valued at $4,435. 

AGRICULTURE.— This industry has for many years 
been an important one, and is continually on the increase, and 
has assumed large proportions in the Upper Platte Valley 
country and the tributaries of the North Platte river. Wheat, 
oats and barley are raised in large quantities and command a 
ready price for home consumption. The wheat is of a very 
fine, plump grain, making the very best of flour. The oats 
are of a superior quality and run from forty-five to fifty pounds 
to the bushel. All of these crops yield abundantly. Hay is 
an important crop, and the yield per acre is very satisfactory. 
Timothy and red top grow -luxuriantly, but the native hay, of 
which there is a large quantity raised, is mu^h in favor. Alfalfa 
or Lucerne is a prime favorite, and there is a large acreage 
devoted to the production of that crop. It yields from three 
to four tons per acre, each year, of a very superior quality, 
much esteemed by all stockmen for its fat producing qualities. 
All kinds of vegetables and small fruits grow abundantly, and 
the entire home market is supplied by home production. All 
farming is by irrigation, which is acknowledged to be far supe- 
rior to any other rnethod. 

The feeding of cattle and sheep for spring market is largely 
engaged in by the inhabitants of this county, who annually 
ship large numbers of sheep and fat beeves to eastern markets, 
commanding the highest market prices. 

MINING. — The presence of gold, silver and copper, as 
well as all other precious metals in Carbon county, has long 
been known to its residents, and attempts have been made, 
from time to time, to work such leads as gave promise; but 
owing to lack of capital, the work has not been productive of 
much good. At the present time, however, there Is great pro- 
mise in this direction, especially in the Grand Encampment 
district, situated in the southern portion of Carbon county. 
Before the discovery of the Grand Encampment district, there 
had been several mines of gold and silver bearing rock of very 



CARBON COUNTY. 21 

promising leads, patented in the region embraced by the ex- 
treme northwestern portion of that district. 

The Grand Encampment discovery was made in the year 
1896. It covers a large tract of country from eight to ten 
miles in width, by thirty-five to forty miles in length — and per- 
haps much larger. The country is mountainous, and is thickly 
interspersed with leads of varying thickness and value of min- 
eral. These leads arc from eight inches to ten feet in 
thickness, and show gold and copper in paying quantities. 
Many of them are being developed, and as depth is gained, 
the value of the ore increases. 

The Battle Lake country, which is included in the Grand 
Encampment district, has one very fine copper mine, the Ram- 
bler, from which copper ore has been shipped in small quan- 
tities for the past three years, and which is now steadily pro- 
ducing a moderate quantity. It has a vein about four feet in 
thickness, the ore from which is 50 per cent copper. There 
are at least ten or fifteen very large and equally valuable copper 
leads in this same neighborhood, aiU of which will be opened 
up this year. This camp will probably be, within a few years, 
the largest and richest copper camp in the world. In this 
district are also found large deposits of asbestos and mica. Some 
eight miles west of the Battle Lake region lies the Northern 
Bell, a gold mine, tapping the vein, which is ten feet thick, at a 
depth of 250 feet from the surface. Assays from this mine 
have run as high as $700. A ten stamp mill is used to crush 
the ore, which is treated also by the cyanide process. 

Gold Hill, which lies to the east of Saratoga some twenty- 
five miles, also has many valuable leads, which are being sys- 
tematically developed by eastern capitalists. 

The streams from both ranges of mountains that empty 
their waters into the North Platte river, contain placer gold in 
paying quantities, and there are many locations of placer 
ground all over that region, but their development, owing to 
want of capital, has been slow. 

The Seminoe district, in the extreme northern portion 
of the county, has long been known to hold much precious 
metal in the way of gold, but the ore has, up to this time, proved 
refractory and difficult to handle. Assays from the leads in 
that district show gold in paying qtfantities. 

There are many other promising, yet undeveloped, dis- 
tricts in this county which will, as soon as capital can be inter- 
ested,, be developed and made to yield up their treasures. 

COAL MINES. — One of, the most important products of 
the county is its coal, of which there are mines located at Car- 



22 STATE OF WYOMING. 

bon, Hanna, Rawlins, Kindt and other points. The most 
productive mines are those located at Carbon and Hanna, 
where the mines are operated by the Union Pacific Railroad 
company. The totall output of these mines for the year 1897 
was 506,875 tons. 

CLIMATE. — The climate of Carbon county is healthful, 
bracing and invigorating, mild and pleasant during the summer 
.months and not severely cold or uncomfortable in the winter. 
It is peculiarly suited to the building up of weak lungs and is 
conducive to health and longevity in all classes. 

WATER AND TIMBER.— Carbon county is well watered 
by mountain streams, the North Platte river flowing the entire 
length of the county from south to north. Nearly every por- 
tion is abundantly supplied with water for irrigation purposes. 
The numerous mountain ranges in the county are covered with 
an excellent quality of pine timber suitable for building pur- 
poses and for the manufacture of lumber, as well as for fuel. 

GAME /* ^ "^ FISH. — Carbon county streams, while orig- 
inally barren ot trout, have been well stocked with every variety 
of that kind of fish, and arc today the finest trout streams to 
be found anywhere. Trout weighing from ten to twelve pounds 
have been frequently taken - from the Nprth Platte over in 
recent years, and every stream swarms with the finny tribe. 
Game of all kinds, includine bear, elk and deer, are to be found 
in the mountain ranges and timber, and ^sage grouse inhabit the 
plains and mountains, and the streams and lakes are well sup- 
plied with ducks and geese. 



CONVERSE COUNTY. 



Converse county, which was organized in 1887. has a pop- 
ulation approximating 4,000. It has an area of 7,000 square 
miles and is bounded on the south by the counties of Laramie 
and Albany, on the north by Weston, on the west by Natrona, 
and on the east by the state lines of South Dakota and Ne- 
braska. The North Platte river, with its many tributaries, 
flows through the central portion of the county, affording a 
bountiful water supply, for thousands of acres of land. Hun- 



CONVERSE COUNTY. 23 

dreds of acres of land have been brought under cultivation, 
and its wide plains are among the best pasture lands of the 
state. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley railroad 
traverses its entire length from east to west; and the Chey- 
enne & Northern railroad gives an outlet to the south. The 
total assessed wealth of the county, in 1897, is given as $i,523,r 
800, divided as follows: Land and improvements, $308,156; 
town lots and improvements, $86,856;. railroads and telegraph 
lines, $478,953; cattle, $300,069; horses, $71405; sheep, 
$163,236; all other property, $115,195. County bonded in- 
debtedness, $60,000. 

Until a very late date the tract of country known as Con- 
verse county was given up to stock-growing. There are sev- 
eral thousand acres of land under cultivation to-day. Most of 
the cultivated acreage can be classed as bottom or low lands, 
bordering upon streams, although in the southeastern portion 
lands are producing good crops of corn, wheat and oats 
without irrigation. The principal crop in small grain is oats. 
With irrigation, oats have reached the enormot. _ ^ leld of eighty 
bushels to the acre, with a stool of six feet Wheat will yield 
fifteen bushels on sod and twenty bushels on old ground. Rye 
and barley twenty bushels to the--acre.. Tame grasses — tim- 
othy, clover and millet — reach a luxurious, growth. Alfalfa 
does well without 'rigalion, birt, wjieii placed vndev ditch 
affords two and three full crops p^r y^ar. Cori; ir.akes a good 
crop in the er.si.ern end vu the county. \^egetables, under irri- 
gation an : ui the bottom lands adjacent to streams, attain a 
growth equri-l to California's famous products. Potatoes yield 
seyerf^i hundred bushels to the acre. Pumpkins and squashes 
a weight of one hundred and even one hundred and sixty 

■ is; cabbage, twenty-three pounds; turnips, twelve to 
. (teen pounds, and other vegetables in like proportion. 

Converse countv's chief mineral resources are coal, iron 
atxd copper. The finest coal found west of the Missouri river 
is in the Shaw^nee basin, fifty miles west of the Nebraska state 
line. Near Douglas is found a superior article of lignite, un- 
surpassed as a stove coal and a good steam fud, but the vein' 
is only two and one-half feet thick. At Inez, sixteen miles 
west of Douglas, the vein is seven feet thick, with a sandstone 
roof, and the coal has no superior as a stove or steam fuel. At 
Glenrock, twenty miles further west, the output of the mines^ 
nearly equals in point of quality those of Inez. The vein here 
is about six feet thick, with a sandstone roof. Coal "crops 
out" in greater or less veins in a hundred localities throughout 
the western portion of the county. Iron ore of a high per 
cent abounds in western Converse county, and particularly in 



24 STATE OF WYOMING. 

the northwestern portion. Assays of $68 in gold and silver, 
$240 in '*horn" silver, and 40 to 50 per cent in copper have been 
•obtained from prospect holes all along the Laramie range in 
this county, and particularly from Spring canyon, some fifteen 
mile& south of Douglas. Limestone is found in abundance 
and quarries of superior quality of sandstone have been located. 
Marble equal to the best in "grain" and variety and beautiful 
color, has been discovered in several localities, while gypsum, 
from which is made the plaster of paris of commerce, exists in 
inexhaustible quantities. Large deposits of mica, glass sand 
and potters' clay have also been located. 

Plenty of timber grows in the mountains and foothills, 
principally pine and spruce, and native lumber is supplied at 
reasonable prices. There is plenty of good land in the county 
subject to location, but it is being rapidly taken up. Lubricat- 
ing oil is found in different portions of the county. Capital is at 
present engaged in developing this industry. 

Douglas, the county seat, is located on the North Platte 
river and on the line of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Val- 
ley railroad, and has a population of about 1,000. The town 
is quite prosperous, being the center of a large and growing 
trade. The high prices received for cattle, sheep, wool and 
all farm products, greatly add to its present prosperity. Its 
numerous business places, substantial dwellings, well graded 
streets; sidewalks, waterv.TcrVs and other improvements, attest 
the prosperity of the place. 

Other towns of importance are Glenrock, Lusk, Manville. 
the former a coal mining town of about 900 population, and 
the two latter towns to which agriculture and stock-raising 
districts are tributary. 



CROOK COUNTY 



BY MILO A. ADAMS. 



Crook county is situated in the northeastern corner of the 
state, bounded on the east by Dakota, on the north by ]yIon- 
tana, on the west by Sheridan and Johnson counties, and on 
the south by Weston county. 




^^ 







CROOK COUNTY. 25 

STATISTICS. — It is one hundred and two miles long by 
sixty wide, and has an area of 6,120 square miles, or about 
3,916,800 acres. Lands assessed, 149,606 acres; tota!! assessed 
value of all property, $1,658,184; county tax levy, 16.5 mills; 
bonded indebtedness, $80,000; number of schools, forty; num- 
ber of school children, 599; population, estimated at 4,000. 

The county is traversed by the Grand Island & Northern 
railroad, with a mileage of 79.1 miles, assessed at $308,139. 

COUNTY SEAT AND PRINCIPAL TOWN.— The 
county seat and principal town is Sundance, with a population 
of about 500; situated at the foot of Sundance mountain, on 
the banks of Sundance creek, a beautiful mountain stream, and 
in the center of a fertile district. The city owns its system of 
waterworks, substantial city hall, fire apparatus, etc. Mer- 
chandising in all its branches, banking and commercial inter- 
ests are well represented. The municipal bonded indebtedness 
is $15,000, at 6 per cent interest. 

ALTITUDE AND CLIMATE.— The altitude of Crook 
county averages about 4,000 feet above sea level, and the atmos- 
phere is dry, bracing and healthful, with a mean annual tem- 
perature of 41. 1 degrees. The yearly precipitation averages 
twenty-four inches, and agricultnral products are grown 
throughout this county without irrigation. 

SCHOOLS. — Throughout th*j county are good schools in 
each locality where the population justifies their establishment, 
there being in all forty, each one presided over by a competent 
instructor. 

AGRICULTURE. — Agricultural pursuits claim the atten- 
tion of many of the citizens of the county, and wheat, oats, rye, 
corn, alfalfa, potatoes and every variety of garden vegetables 
are raised with profit, both the yield in many instances, and the 
quality of the product being worthy of particular mention. 
Wild fruits of the smaller varieties are especially abundant, and 
considerable progress has already been made in the cultivation 
of the tame varieties. The soil throughout the county is a 
dark, rich loam of great fertility, and the fact that crops can be 
raised without irrigation, facilitates agricultural pursuits. 

LIVE STOCK. — In connection with agricultural pursuits, 
all kinds of live stock are raised extensively. The present 
return for assessment shows 37,464 neat cattle, 8,753 horses and 
6,502 sheep, with a total valuation of $616,378. 

iMINING. — Gold, silver, tin, copper, lead and manganese 
have been found in considerable quantities, and extensive coal 
fields of a good quality of semi-bituminous coal are being devel- 



26 STATE OF WYOMING. 

oped. Much of the future wealth of Crook county will un- 
doubtedly come from the development of the coal fields of that 
locality. Quite extensive gold placer mining operations have 
been conducted on Sand creek and vicinity, with profit to the 
operators. Granite, porphyry, limestone, sandstone and other 
building stones are found in great variety and abundance. 

STREAMS AND TOPOGRAPHY.— The county is trav- 
ersed by rmmerous streams, among the number being the Belle 
Fourche, the Little Missouri and Little Powder rivers. The 
water generally of the streams is pure and suitable to domestic 
vises. Along these numerous streams are fertile valleys of fine 
farming lands, and between the streams are found extensive 
plateaus suitable for grazing. Low ranges of mountains, "well 
timbered, traverse the county, adding to the attractiveness of 
the landscape. 

TIMBER. — The timber found on these mountain ranges 
is a heavy growth of spruce and pine, from which can be ob- 
tained saw logs of from thirty to fifty feet in length, averaging 
from twelve to twenty-four inches in diameter. Several saw- 
mills supply the local market at reasonable prices, and citizens 
of the county avail themselves for building purposes, not only 
of the manufactured product, but also of the timber in its nat- 
ural state. Oak, ash and cottonwood trees also abound. 

FISHING.--A branch of the State Fish Hatchery is 
located in Crook county, not far from Sundance, and many of 
the streams of the county furnish excellent sport to those who 
enjoy the pursuit of game fish. 

NATURAL CURIOSITIES.— One remarkable forma- 
tion known as the Devil's Tower, a solid basaltic column rising 
abruptly to a height of 1,300 feet, and making a landmark that 
can be seen for miles in every direction, is a notable feature of 
the topography of this county. 



FREMONT COUNTY. 2; 



FREMONT COUNTY. 



BY C. G. COUTANT. 



Fremont is the west central county of the state, and has 
an average width, north and south, of one hundred miles, and 
its length, east and west, is one hundred and twenty-five mileSo 

The county indebtedness is $50,000 (bonded), and the rate 
of taxation for 1897 was 15.5 mills. The total number of acres 
of land listed for taxation in the same year was ' 39,678, while 
the valuation of all real estate, including town lots, was $524,-= 
336.00, and the total valine of all assessable property in the 
county, $1,219,278.00. 

There are no railroads in the county, but it is reached by 
daily stage from Casper on the Fremont, Elkhorn 81 Missouri 
Valley, and Rawlins, on the Union Pacific railroad. 

The county is famous for its rich agricultural lands and 
its abundance of water for irrigation. It is also noted for fine 
apple orchards and its abundance of small fruits. The wool 
clip of the county for 1897 was 1,600,000 pounds. There are 
many small cattle ranches in the county, which have been ope- 
rated successfully for many years. Wheat is grown in the 
Lander valley, and it has been a profitable crop annually for 
the last fifteen years. There are three improved flourmg mills 
in the county, one located in Lander, another at Milford, four 
miles north of the latter place, and the third at the Shoshone 
agency, twelve miles north of the last named place. All these 
mills turn out high patent process flour, and the product is 
equal to the best anvwhere. Oats and other small grains are 
successfully grown. Potatoes and all kinds of garden vegeta- 
bles grow to perfection, including tomatoes, which ripen before 
frost. Alfalfa, timothy, yield abundantly, and native hay 
grasses abound everywhere. 

LANDER. — The county seat, is centra,lly located and is 
surounded by hundreds of improved farms. The court house 
and jail is a fine, large brick structure, and is one of the best 
county buildings in the state. The public school building is 



rg STATE OF WYOMING. 

of brick and contains nine large rooms. The average enroll- 
ment is two hundred and fifty, and six teachers are employed. 
The school is graded, and the graduates of the High school 
are admitted to the State University. Three religious socie- 
ties have church edifices, namely, Methodist, Catholic and 
Episcopal. 

There is an abundance of timber for building purposes 
and sawmiUs to cut up the lumber. A fine article of coal is 
found in inexhaustible quantities all along the valley, which 
provides a cheap fuel for domestic and steam purposes. There 
are a number of oil springs in the county, and ten miles south 
of Lander are three flowing oil wells, with a capacity of two 
hundred barrels per day each. These wells are plugged at 
present, awaiting the advent of a railroad. White and red 
sandstone, for building purposes, is found in every part of the 
county. Eight miles west of Lander there is a deposit of gray 
marble, and near it an abundant supply of granite. Both of 
these are susceptible of a beautiful polish. 

The streams of Fremont county are numerous and of a 
lasting character. Big Horn, Wind river, Little Wind and 
the numerous branches of the Popo Agie are the fountam heads 
of the Missouri river. They take their rise in the Wind River 
range, one of the loftiest mountains of the Continental Divide. 

The Shoshone reservation occupies nearly one-third of the 
area of the county, and it is made up of fine agricultural land, 
much of which will be open for settlement within a very few 
years. The Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes, which occupy 
this land, number about 900 souls to each tribe. During the 
last few years, they have advanced with a rapid stride toward 
civilization, and within the last two years 1,350 have taken their 
lands in severalty, and the balance will make their selection as 
soon as the surveys, which are now going;- on, are completed. 
The Government has, since 1873, maintained schools on the 
reservation, and, besides this, two religious denominations are 
conducting schools for the benefit of the Indians. For the 
year 1897, the enrollment at the Government school was two 
hundred and four, and for 1898 it is somewhat in excess of these 
figures, and about one hundred and fifteen children attend the 
Cathdlic and Episcopal schools. Education is doin'^ "luch 
for these Indians, and its efifects are noticeable in the d'^-i"'^ for 
land and the opening up of many farms, which are fairly culti- 
vated. As soon as all these Indians take their land in sever- 
altv. they will sell to the Government what remains, and it will 
be thrown open to settlement. 



JOHNSON COUNTY. 2g, 

Fish abound in all the streams of this section, and trout 
fishing is the pastime of the many. There is an abundance 
of elk, deer and antelope and a number of varieties of bear in 
the Wind River range and Owl Creek mountains, which extend 
nearly the whole length of the county. 

Southern Fremont county has numerous gold deposits, 
both in placer and quartz. From 1868 to 1873, the mines 
around South Pass yielded more than $7,000,000. Since that 
time there has been a steady output, but the mining districts 
being remote from the railroad, the work has been carried oa 
under many disadvantages, and the amount of gold taken out 
has consequently been comparatively small. The mineralized 
district covers a territory of twenty-five miles one way by fifty- 
five the other. Within the last two or three years men with 
large means have become interested in the mines, and these 
feel confident that the outcome will be satisfactory. 

There is a large amount of Government land in the county,, 
suitable for stock ranches and farms. Near Lander are 12,000- 
acres which can be entered as homesteads or desert claims, an^l 
irirgating ditches can be constructed so as to water these lands; 
at comparatively small expense. These are desirable locations- 
because of their nearness to market, good schools and churches. 



JOHNSON COUNTY. 



Johnson county is bounded on the north by Sheridan 
county, on the south by Natrona, on the east by Weston and 
Crook, and on the west by Big Horn. It has an area of 4,046 
square miles, or 2,589,600 acres. The total assessed valuation 
of the county in 1897 was $1,163,745, divided as follows: Land 
and improvements, $.^06,801; town lots and improvements, 
$160,731; cattle, $372,592; horses, $73,934; sheep, $108,316; oth- 
er property, $141,371. County bonded indebtedness, $75,000. 
The population of the county is almost 3,000. Johnson county, 
with its rolling plains, extensive forests and fertile valleys, is 
justly regarded as one of the best sections of the state. The 



o STATE OF WYOMING. 

Big Horn mountains have an elevation of nearly 14,000 .feet, 
while many of the valleys are less than 5,000 feet above the sea 
level. The resources of the county are varied. Stock raising 
was the first industry to engage the attention of settlers. It 
was the open range, the abundant streams of pure water, and 
the sparse settlement that first attracted the large cattlemen to 
Johnson county in 1879-89. There are thousands of acres of 
grazing lands; but suiHcient lands can be irrigated to produce 
enough hay, grain, alfalfa, etc., to make winter feed for all the 
live stock that the range will support in summer. The county 
is one of the best watered counties in Wyoming, being well 
supplied with innumerable streams heading in the Big Horn 
mountains, and flowing generally to the northeast and the 
■northwest. Agriculture has become a leading industry, and 
only awaits increased railroad facilities to greatly increase the 
productions of the county. All kinds of vegetables are suc- 
cessfully raised; cabbage, turnips, rutabagas, lettuce, parsnips, 
cauliflower, beets, carrots, cqlery, broom corn and sorghum 
cane are all grown with success, while melons and small fruits 
of unequaled flavor and excellence, are cultivated. Yield of 
oats per acre is given at forty-five bushels and upwards ; wdieat, 
thirty to fifty bushels ; barley, forty to sixty bushels ; potatoes 
average two hundred bushels, and other crops in proportion. 

There is a large supply of pine timber taken from the 
moun'ains, and is well suited for building purposes. Along 
the streams are thrifty groves of cottonwood, but experiments 
have shown that timber of various kinds can be as successfully 
grown here as in the prairie states of Kansas and Nebraska. 
Minerals are yet undeveloped, but valuable prospects in gold, 
silver and copper, are found in the Big Horn mountains. Coal 
of superior quality is mined in numerous localities. 

Buffalo, the county seat, has always been a prosperous 
town, and, at the present time, has a population of about 1,200. 
It is the business center of a fine grazing and agricultural dis- 
trict, and has superior natural advantages. Clear creek could 
furnish water power for a hundred factories, besides irrigating 
-several hundred thousand acres of land. At the present time, 
Buffalo is thirty-two miles from the Burlington & Missouri rail- 
road, but, at no distant day, expects to have railroad connec- 
tions. Its citizens have been very enterprising, in buildi'ng up 
the town, having erected a $40,000 court house, a $15,000 
school building and numerous brick buildings. The city also 
maintains an electric light plant, flouring mill, water works and 
two newspapers. Two stage lines are operated, one leaving 
daily for Sheridan and the other for Clearmont, on the line of 
the railroad. 



LARAMIE COUNT/. 31 



LARAMIE COUNTY. 



BY ROBT. C. MORRIS. 



Laramie county is located in the southeastern portion of 
Wyoming, and comprises an area of 7,000 square miles. It 
ranks first in population and wealth, and was one of the original 
four counties of the Territory of Wyoming. The rolling plains 
along the eastern slope of the Black Hills range, varying in 
altitude from 4,000 to 8,000 feet, are its natural features. These 
plains are peculiarly adapted to grazing. In a'|l parts of the 
county are found numerous streams. The total acreage of the 
county is 4,520,480, of which 3,000,000 acres are fine grazing 
land and 1,000,000 acres are susceptible of being made rich 
agricultural lands. 

It is full of undeveloped resources, and has iron, coal, cop- 
per, gold and silver, sandstone, marble, granite, mineral paint, 
mica, etc. The land is generally free from stones and other 
obstructions and is easily broken and cultivated. In excep- 
tional seasons the natural rainfall is sufficient to produce a 
growth of grain and vegetables, but irrigating ditches and a 
rehable supply of water are necessary to insure the success of 
farming operations. 

The county indebtedness is $400,000, and the rate of taxa- 
tion 12.875 niills. The total number of acres of land listed 
for taxation is 1,002,685.28, and the valuation of al^l real estate 
in the county, including town lots, is $2,808,890.64; total value 
of all assessable property in the county, $5,433,052.37. 

Laramie county has passed from a purely pastoral condi- 
tion to one of mixed husbandry. Stock raising, farming, dairy- 
ing and gardening are practiced in varying degrees. The 
average temperature is about 60 degrees F.; the rainfall, four- 
teen inches; frosts sometimes up to the middle of May, and 
again from the middle of September. All field crops common 
to the west succeed wqII. 

The development through irirgation has not been confined 
to any particular locality. The ranches near the Laramie 
range, to-wit, on the little streams which flow southward into 
the Poudre of Colorado, on the Crow, Lodge Pole and Chug, 



32 STATE OF WYOMING. 

as well as on the North Laramie, Cotton and Horse Shoe, are 
still mainly for the production of hay; but lower down, espe- 
cially on Horse creek and other little streams emptying into 
the North Platte near the border of Nebraska, general farming 
is done with excellent results. The soil is exceedingly fertile, 
the water reliable and the altitude sufficiently low to warrant 
the planting of any of the ordinary field crops. The creeks 
are lined, therefore, with farms in the hands of ranchmen, who, 
by combining farming and stock raising, are prospering. 

WHEATLAND COLONY.— The Wheatland colony is 
located in the center of one of the finest" agricultural sections 
to be found in the west, and what can be accomplished under 
an irrigation system may best be seen here. The average-^ alti- 
tude of the lands is 4,700 feet and the water for irrigating pur- 
poses, of which there is an ample supply, is obtained from the 
Laramie and Sybille rivers. 

The purpose or object of the company w^as to make it possi- 
ble to locate a large body of agriculturists near Cheyenne. A 
half dozen public-spirited men, some years ago, caused a thor- 
ough investigation to be made. They found the section of 
country, which they afterwards selected for the location of the 
works, one of the best locations for a successful agricultural 
settlement. The first thing was to discover a rich soil; then a 
means of obtaining an abundance of water for its reclamation. 
The advice and asisstance of the best engineers were procured, 
those who had not only experience in doing engineering work, 
but who had so watched the construction of various irrigation 
plants as to avoid' mistakes as to plans and specifications, for 
the best possible systems. Every examination made of the 
completed works by experts and others has brought the highest 
commendation of the system. 

There are three large canals of a total length of forty-four 
miles, having a capacity equal to the irrigation of 60,000 acres 
of land. It is proposed to extend the system so as to water 
120,000 acres. Over $500,000 was expended in the original 
construction of these works. The soil is a rich sandy loam, 
and when irrigated, is weU adapted for raising wheat, oats, 
barley, rye, potatoes, turnips, flax, beets, certain varieties of 
corn, etc., without other fertilization than comes from the appli- 
cation of water for irrigation. 

One of the crops which promises to bring money to the 
Wheatland farmer is the sugar beet. The amount of saccha- 
rine matter in most sugar beets ranges from 12 to 16 per cent, 
but the Wheatland beets, according to the oi^cial reports of 



LARAMIE COUNTY. 33 

the Government chemist, showed 22 per cent of saccharine 
matter. 

The town of Wheatland is located on the Denver & Gulf 
railroad, about ninety miles from Cheyenne. It is beautifully 
located, beneath the shadow of Laramie Peak, and is a pros- 
perous community. It is most advantageously situated for 
the growth of a large city. It is 4,700 feet above sea levell. 
There are at present 150 comfortable houses in the town, a 
flour mill, elevator, several stores and a good hotel. The 
elevator has a capacity of 60,000 bushels of grain, and a storage 
room for 30,000 bushels of potatoes. It is provided with the 
most improved machinery for handling grain and farm prod- 
ucts. The Wheatland Roller mill, completed in September, 
1897, at a cost of $25,000, has a capacity of one hundred and 
fifty barrels of flour per day, and during the busy season is 
operated both night and day. The machinery is all of the 
latest and most improved patern, and its product equal to the 
best manufactured in the west. All the wheat is obtained 
from the colony. 

COUNTY SEAT AND PRINCIPAL TOWN— CHEY- 
ENNE. — The city of Cheyenne is the county seat of Laramie 
county, and has a population of 10,000. It is the commercial 
center of the state and headquarters of the great cattle ranges 
of the west. Owing to the rapid advancement of Cheyenne 
after the settlement in 1867, it gained the title of ''The Magic 
City," and has always been noted for the wealth and enterprise 
of its citizens. The city was designated as the capital when 
Wyoming territory was organized in 1869. Its geographical 
position is at the very gateway of the state, its location being 
forty miles from the west line of Nebraska and twelve from the 
north line of Colorado. 

It is 516 miles west of Omaha, on the line of the Union 
Pacific; also, the junction of the Denver Pacific, Colorado 
Central and Cheyenne & Northern railways. The completion, 
in December, 1887, of the Cheyenne & Burlington with the 
Burlington & Missouri system, gave Cheyenne another Impor- 
tant ottlet. 

Cheyenne has an extensive system of water works, the 
latest and most approved sewerage system, fire department and 
fire alarm system, telephone exchange, arc and incandescent 
electric-lighted streets, besides gas for general use; has a 
$50,600 opera house, $30,000 club house, fine business blocks, 
elegant private residences, two banks, eleven churches, two 
dally newspapers, state capitol costing $350,000. Among 

-3 



3f 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



the other institutions are five puDhc school buildings, built at 
an average cost of $30,000; a convent school, erected at a cost 
of over $50,000; a county hospital; a county court house and 
jail; a State Sailors' and Soldiers' Home, and extensive rail- 
road shops, employing several hundred men. . 

The city is the supply point for an immense stock raising 
and agricultural country, and its citizens are among the largest 
live stock owners in the state. 

Fort Russell, three miles from the city, is a permanent mili- 
tary post, and the largest and most important in the department 
of the Platte. 

There are several manufacturing estabhshments in the 
city, and the volume of business transacted annually amounts 
to many thousand dollars. 

Strangers view with delight the miles of smooth stone flag- 
ging and cement sidewalks that line almost every street of 
Cheyenne. The beauty of many of the streets and avenues 
is greatly enhanced by the bright, green turf on either side of 
the walk, which, together with long, straight lines of trees, 
forms an agreeable feature of the city's landscape. Nowhere 
can be found more delightful drives: Nature has provided 
roads equal to the smooth gravel roads of Central Park, New 
York. The people of Cheyenne have made it one of the most 
attractive places in which to live in Arfterica. 

Cheyenne now has the promise of another solendid edifice 
in the new United States building about to be erected. The 
building, which is to be devoted to the use o^ t^ie nostal deoar':- 
ment, United States courts, land o^5ces. weather bureau, etc., 
will be a most imposine edi^ce and an ornament to the business 
section of the city. Its con^>t^iiction vnW soon be commenced, 
as the first appropriation of $?noooo has alreadv been mad^ 
by congress. The total cost of the bulldinor will approximate 
$500000. 

One of the greatest attractions of the citv is Its pure and 
healthful climate. Its air Is an Invlr^oratln^ tonic, cool in 
summer, mild In winter. No better summer climate can be 
found In our land. 

HARTVILLE.— Hartvine. th" Iron camp. Is situated 
about one hundred miles north of Chevenne. The ore is hauled 
fifteen miles from the mines to Badg^er bv wagon, thence over 
the Gulf and Union Pacific roads to Denver, and the output is 
about one hundred and fifty tons per day. 



XATROXA COUNTY. ' 35 



NATRONA COUNTY. 



BY HON. M. P. WHEELER. 



This county was organized in 1890, and derives its name 
from the natural deposits of natrum, or carbonite of soda, found 
in the numerous basins or lakes that abound in this section of 
Wyoming. Located in almost the geographical center of the 
state, it covers an area of about seventy square miles. The 
Platte river, with its numerous tributaries, traversing its entire, 
length a distance of seventy-five miles from east to west, fur- 
nishes an abundant water supply for irrigation, and as the mean 
elevation does not exceed 5,500 feet, the farmers of the county 
raise a,ll the hardy grains, vegetables and fruit common to the 
northwestern states. 

At the present time the live stock interest leads all other 
industries in this county. The Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri 
railroad, a branch of the great Northwestern system, afTords 
an outlet to eastern markets. The assessed wealth of Natrona 
county in 1897 was $1,062,078, and is divided as follows: Sheep, 
$382,604; cattle, $139,954; horses, $46,597; lands and im- 
provements, $134,028; railroad property, $58,344; merchan- 
dise and manufacturing, $82,110; all other property, $300,000. 
The county indebtedness is $22,000, and the rate of taxation 
for the year 1897 was 14 mills. 

It will be observed that the raising of sheep overshadows 
ah other industries. The fleece of a Natrona county sheep will 
average ten pounds, and the total wool clip for 1898 approxi- 
mates four million pounds. 

But it is the undeveloped resources of Natrona county that 
offer the greatest inducements for the investment of capital. 
Already the oil industry has reached an important stage of 
development. The oil district, which covers an area of 2,000 
square miles, has been largely prospected and numerous wells 
have been drilled and yield an unlimited supply of natural oils. 
About 700,000 acres of oil lands have been located in Natrona 
county. The oil is lubricant in character, and is said by 



36 STATE OF WYOMING. 

< 
experts to be the best in the world. The principal basin, is on 
Salt creek. Wells have also been drilled on the south fork of 
Powder river, in the Rattlesnake district, and on Casper creek. 
In every district the finest of lubricating oil has been found. 
Much doubt exists relative to the first discovery of oil in Wyo- 
ming, It is said that the Mormons and other overland trav- 
elers used oil over forty years ago from a spring at Oil moun- 
tain, twenty miles west of the town of Casper. It is claimed 
that there are over fifty such springs in the couny. One of 
the first locators of oil in Natrona coimty was John Merritt, 
who became the possessor of several thousand acres of land 
lying along the west bank of Salt creek, on which was a natural 
oil spring. The first oil well sunk was in 1884, on" Poison 
Spider creek, by a Denver company. Wells were a^so sunk in 
the Rattlesnake district. But the principal wells are located 
on Salt creek, a distance of fifty miles from Casper. At Cas- 
per, the Pennsylvania Oil and Gas company have erected a. 
refinery, which has a daily capacity of two hundred barrels of 
crude oil. The product is hauled from the wells in wagons 
that have a carrying capacity of 18,000 pounds, each train of 
wagons requiring twelve to sixteen mules. This greatly adds 
to the expense of production. At present the follov/ing oils 
are manufactured at Casper: Railroad engine, railroad car, 
railroad valve and railroad signal. These oils are the most 
perfect lubricants, of high endurance, highest fire tests and 
greatest body and wearing power. Besides railroad oils, the 
refinery manufactures other special high grade oils, viz: Sta- 
tionary enginej valve, spindle oils, dynamo oil, neutral oil for 
-blending animal and vegetable oils, paint oil, visco axle grease, 
and heavy machine oil for mowing machines. The product of 
eight producing wells varies in value from twenty cents to one 
dollar and fifty cents per gallon. 

Steam coal exists in abundance in Natrona county. Glen- 
rock, a few miles east of Casper, in Converse county, is a thriv- 
ing coal camp, and gives employment to several hundred 
people. Lignite coal, varying from a few inches to several 
feet in thickness, is found in various parts of the county. The 
inexhaustible deposits of sulphate and carbonate of soda, which 
are formed from natural springs, will some day be the basis of 
a great and profitable industry, and only await the magic touch 
of capital and skill to develop their great possibilities. 

Among the natural wonders of Natrona county are the 
Alcova Hot Springs, which possess medicinal virtues for the 
treatment of rheumatism and kindred diseases. These springs 



SHERIDAN COUNTY. 37 

are located in the mountains and are surrounded with beautiful 
scenery. 

Considerable development has been made in the mining 
of precious metals. Deposits of gold and silver ore are found 
in the mountains. Low grade ores, which ass^y from five 
to ten dollars a ton, are abundant, and in time can be profitably 
mined. Coal, iron, copper and valuable building stone are 
found in various localities. The best developed copper claims 
in Casper mountain assay from 37 to 40 per cent copper. 
Asbestos is also found in paying quantities. 

CASPER, the county seat of Natrona county, is a thriving 
town of about 1,200 inhabitants. At the present time it is 
one of the most thriving communities in the state. It is the 
western terminus of the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley 
railroad, which gives it a large and important freighting busi- 
ness and trade with the country west of Casper, including the 
prosperous counties of Fremont and Big Horn. Its citizens 
are among the m.ost enterprising in the state, and its fine busi- 
ness blocks, churches and school houses attest the liberality 
of the people. Among the recent improvements are fine water 
works, electric lights and steam plant for shearing sheep. 



SHERIDAN COUNTY, 



BY HON. EDWARD GILLETTE, 
■ Superintendent Water Division No. 2. 

Sheridan county is situated in the central part of northern 
Wyoming. In extent it is ninety miles east and west, and 
thirty miles north and south, containing 2,700 square miles, or 
1,728,000 acres. * This area is divided as follows: Three hun- 
dred and seventy-eight thousand acres, mountainous; 350,000 
acres irrigated or capable of irrigation; 1,000,000 acres grazing 
lands. There, are approximately 200,000 acres under cultiva- 
tion at present. 



33 STAIE OF WYOMING. 

The principal products of the county are cattle, hay, wheat, 
oats, potatoes and coal. Farming, in connection with stock 
raising, is the chief occupation of the people, the cattle industry 
being by far the most prevalent and best paying business. 

The assessed wealth of Sheridan county in 1897 was 
divided as follows: Sheep, $12,052.25; cattle, $310,439; 
horses, $101,403; lands and improvements, $510,142.60; rail- 
road property, $350,787.36; merchandise and manufactures, 
$137,941; total assessed va^ue of all property, $1,924,433.41; 
the county's indebtedness is $32,000, and the rate of taxation 
for the year 1897 was 16 mills. Of the total county area, 
165,000 acres have been patented. 

The annual output of coal is 75,000 tons, the greater part 
of which is shipped to the Black Hills and points in Nebraska. 

Of wheat, 200,000 bushels are raised each year, the acre- 
age being on the increase, but by far the largest acreage in 
crops is given to the raising of hay, which consists mainly of 
al'a'fa. This is naturally the case where the most lucrative 
business in the past has been, and i^ now. that of stock raising. 
It is distinctively notable, however, that as farmers come into 
this country from eastern states, the farm is made^ to produce 
greater profit in the raising of grains, potatoes and small fruits, 
which are now being shipped to markets both east and west, 
and for which there is a greater demand than supply. 

The mountainous part of Sheridan county shows more 
prospects of being rich in copper than in other minerals, al- 
though good samples of gold, silver, nickel and other minerals 
are found. The mountainous part of the county, however, 
contains a large number of natural basins for the storage of 
water, which insures a vast development at no distant time in 
the production of crops requiring late irrigation. The build- 
ing of reservoirs for the storage of water has hardly begun, 
but considerable interest is being taken in this direction, and 
some work has already been contracted. 

It would appear that with the most productive kind of soil, 
with abundance of water, the prospects in the mountains being 
developed into mines, while the whole country is underlaid with 
coal, exceedingly easy of access, Sheridan county happily com- 
bines those resources essential as a foundation to make a per- 
manent and rapid development on a sound basis, insuring 
happy and prosperous homes for those willing to work. 

One of the pleasing features of Sheridan county is the 
excellent trout fishing to be found in all of the twenty-two 
streams flowing from the Big Horn mountains. This indi- 



SHERIDAN COUNTY. 39 

cates at once the pure and cool character of the waters in this 
county. These streams were found in early days to be the 
natural home of the black spotted or Rocky Mountain trout. 
Of late years most of the streams have been stocked with the 
red spotted or eastern brook trout, which, from actual tests 
made, appear to do better in these waters than any other region 
yet found. 

The Big Horn mountains, unlike the Rocky mountains 
farther west, afford the finest places for camping purposes. 
Summer resorts have been erected at some of the lakes high 
up in the mountains, where the fishing is the best, and here one 
can walk over great drifts of snow, which never entirely disap- 
pear. 

The Burlington & Missouri River railroad has a line trav- 
ersing the entire length of the county, and has projected lines 
in other directions. The voting population is 2,000; there are 
ten churches; a college; numerous excellent schools; three 
flouring mills; brick yards; a brewery, and a number of small 
manufacturing concerns. 

At Sheridan, the county seat, an excellent electric light 
plant is in operation, and a system of telephone exchange exists 
connecting with the smaller towns in the vicinity. 

There is practically no waste land in the county. The 
mountain section is covered partly with pine timber, furnishing 
an abundant supply of building material, and poles for fencing, 
besides large areas of good grazing lands for summer pasture. 
Of the million acres of grazing lands in the rolling country east 
of t-;e mountains, 200.000 acres have been leased to the settlers. 
The principle governing the allotment of these grazing lands 
by the state has been to allow each settler the sole right to lease 
the land adjacent to his farm. The hills between the valleys 
and upper bench lands are covered with a thick growth of nutri- 
tious grasses, which produce the best range stock in this 
country. 

Opportunities for securing good homes and a prosperous 
business are c.i)undant, where the climate is all that can be 
c^esired. and the cost of living is reduced to a minimum. 

(See also data concerning Sheridan county in other por- 
tion of this volume.) 



^o STATE OF WYOMING. 



S^A^EET^VATER COUNTY. 



Sweetwater county is bounded on the north by Fremont 
count)-, on the south by Utah and Colorado, on the east by 
Carbon county, and on the west by Uinta county. In-^are^ 
it is one of the largest counties in the state, and its principal 
industries are coal mining and live stock. 

In the year 1897 the total assessed value of property in 
the county was $3,590,106, divided as follows: Railroad prop- 
erty, $1,463,258.26; lands and improvements, including town 
lots, $1,372,871; cattle, $26,757; horses, $21,890, and sheep, 
$325,608; the total bonded indebtedness of the county is 
$93,000, and the rate of taxation for the year 1897 was 12.75 
mills. 

COUNTY SEAT AND PRINCIPAL TOWNS.— The 
county seat is located at the town of Green River, at the junc- 
tion of the Union Pacific railroad with the Green river. At 
this point are located the county buildings, and the town is 
maintained by the trade derived from the settlements above 
and below along the Green river, and by the business from the 
railroad traffic. It is a divisional point on the railroad, and 
the railroad company maintains repair shops there. It is well 
lighted by electricity; has a good water system, and the munic- 
ipal government is supported without taxation other than 
license taxes. A saw mill, a steam shearing plant; and the 
plant of the Green River Fuel and Oil company are among the 
notable business features of this place. 

ROCK SPRINGS.— Eighteen miles east, on the line of 
the Union Pacific, is located the town of Rock Springs, where 
there are operated the largest coal mines in the state. This 
town has a population of approximately 4,500, composed very 
largely of miners, and is one of the most active business points 
in Wyoming. It is well constructed, having fine business 
blocks, a water system extending to the Green river, electric 
light plant, and a magnificent city hall. At this point is located 
the Wyoming General Hospital, an institution of modern equip- 
ment maintained by the state for the benefit of its citizens. 



SWEETWATER COUNTY. 41 

INDUSTRIES. — Sweetwater county is well suited to the 
business of raising sheep, and many citizens of the county are 
engaged in that industry. The broken and diversified char- 
acter of the country, covered as it is with white sage and nutri- 
tious grasses., furnishes just the conditions conducive to the 
successful management of that class of live stock. 

Next in importance to the sheep business is the coal indus- 
try. Probably the entire county is underlaid with veins of 
coal, which, however, have been more extensively developed 
at Rock Springs than elsewhere, and the term Rock Springs 
coal is synonymous throughout the west with coal of excep- 
tional quality. 

The following report of shipments made by the UniorL 
Pacific railroad between the years 1890 to 1896, will furnish 
some idea of the extent of the industry: 

Shipped — Cars. Tons. 

1890 49^549 990,980 

1891 58,323 1,166,460 

1892 . 66,028 1,320,560 

1893 68,043 1,496,946 

1894 64,303 1 ,414,666 

1895 57.190 1,258,180 

1896. 52,421 1,153,262 

The Union Pacific Coal company is the largest operator 
in the coal field, although there are others located at or near 
Rock Springs. This company owns nine mines, but at present 
is operating but a portion of that number. In addition to 
obtaining a full supply of fuel for its own use, the company 
annually sells thousands of tons throughout W^yoming and 
adjacent states. 

TIMBER. — On the mountains along Green river, extend- 
ing into Fremont and Uinta counties, are found large areas o£ 
heavily timbered lands, from which there is cut annually a large 
amount of a good quality of pine timber, which is floated down 
the Green river to the city of Green River, where it is prepared 
for market. 

AGRICULTURE. — While this county is well watered by 
streatns of considerable size, the agricultural development has 
not been as extensive as in other counties, although in certain 
localities are found attractive and well-improved ranches. 

SODA. — ^^At Green River a remarkably pure quality of 
crude soda has been found, of which the following analysis has 
been furnished by Prof. C. Gilbert Wheeler of Chicago, a chem- 
ist of acknowledged ability: 



^2 STATE OF WYOMING. 

•Silica 0.51 per cent 

Iron and Aluminum 0.42 per cent 

Calcium o . 64 per cent 

Magnesium. . 0.27 per cent 

Insoluble residue 1.23 per cent 

Water 22 . 57 per cent 

Anhydrus Carb. Soda 75-36 per cent 

This is practically more pure than the sal soda of com- 
merce, and the cheapness with which it can be produced offers 
great inducement for the investment of capital. 



UliSTTA COUNTY 



BY GEORGE S. MARX. 



This county lies in the extreme western portion of the 
estate, in the shape of a parallelogram, and extends from the 
northern border of Utah to the southern boundary of the far- 
famed Yellowstone National Park. It is bounded on the east 
by the counties of Sweetwater and Fremont, and on the west 
by Utah and Idaho. It covers over 15,000 square miles, and 
•^equals in area the old states of Massachusetts, Connecticut 
and Delaware combined, and much of this vast acreage is un- 
entered Government land. The Union Pacific railroad crosses 
the county in its southern portion, and the Oregon Short Line 
in the south central portion. Elevation ranges from 5,000 to 
8,000 feet. 

TOPOGRAPHY— Of the county is characterized by a 
charming alternation of wooded hill and arable valley, of roll- 
ing upland, pasturage and well drained meadow. Some parts 
of the county are very mountainous, but broad extents of val- 
leys and plateaus blend with the hills in charming and pictur- 
esque beauty. The mountains are cut by a number of swift 
running rivers through deep canyons, and the valleys are 
threaded by the numerous forks and tributaries of these rivers. 
Fair lakes are embosomed in the hills and feed some great 
rivers and streams, and the water supply of Uinta county is 
never poor. 



UINTA COUNTY. 43 

WATER COURSES.— The rivers of the county are the 
Bear, Green, Salt and Snake. The principal tributaries of 
Bear river are Black's Fork, Twin creeks and Smith's Fork. 
Those of the Green are Horse creek, Cottonwood, the three 
Piney creeks. La Barge creek, Fontenelle creek and Henry's 
Fork. Those of the Snake are Buffalo Fork, Gros Ventre and 
Hoback's rivers from the eastward, and John Davis and Salt 
rivers from tlie south. Besides the lakes and rivers, there are 
about forty named creeks of considerable size traversing the 
surface of the county. 

STATISTICS. — Lands assessed, $849,666.14; total as- 
sessed valuation of all property, $3,504,701.60; rate of taxa- 
t"cn, state and county, 20.65 rnills. Count}^ debt, $103,500 
(bonded); number of miles of railroad, 176.95, assessed at 
$1,348,571.80; number of schools, thirty-nine; teachers, fifty- 
four; districts, fifteen; school children between five and sev- 
enteen years, 2,215. Population, census of 1890, 7,881. 

COUNTY SEAT AND PRINCIPAL TOWNS.— The 
count}^ seat is Evanston; population, 1,995. It is pleasantly 
situated in the Bear River valley; has many natural advan- 
tages and is one of the most prosperous and attractive towns 
in the state. It is the home of prosperous merchants, cattle- 
men and sheepmen; Union Pacific shops are located here. 
The town has two banks, three newspapers, five churches, com- 
modious brick school house, large brick court house and jail, 
electric light plant, waterworks and three hotels. The State 
Insane asylum is situated here, and also United States Land 
Office for Evanston district. 

ALMY. — About five miles west, has nearly as large a 
population as Evanston, and is the largest coal mining camp 
in the county. 

HILLIARD, PIEDMONT, ASPEN and CARTER are 
stations on the line of the Union Pacific. 

FOSSIL, OPAL, HAM'S FORK, DIAMONDVILLE 
and KEMMERER are the principal towns on the Oregon 
Short Line. 

FORT BRIDGER, FONTENELLE, LA BARGE and 
BIG PINEY, all postoffices, are agricultural and cattle-raising 
districts. 

STAR VALLEY, 125 miles from the county seat, is trav- 
ersed by Salt river, Cottonwood creek, mountain streams, and 
numerous large canals and laterals. The settlements are Afton, 
Auburn, Fairview, Thayne and Freedom, all postofifices. The 



44 STATE OF WYOMING. 

population, in the aggregate, is about 2,300. The people are 
thrifty and prosperous. Raise timothy and alfalfa, hay, oats^ 
barley and winter wheat, large crops of potatoes and garden 
truck, and in agricultural wealth and splendid ranges for cattle^ 
are the rivals of the people of the southern end. 

The famous Jackson's Hole and Jackson's lake lie at the 
northern part of the county, south of the Yellowstone National 
Park. It is an extensive valley of fertile lands and some good 
farms, and is traversed by Snake river and numerous creeks. 

SOIL. — The soil is of three distinct classes: First, the- 
the bottom or meadow lands, usually possessing a rich, black 
and somewhat heavy soil, lying next to the streams, alv.&ays. 
easily irrigated and on that account generally the most desir- 
able to settlers. Second, the bench lands, rising terrace-like 
toward the neighboring hills, possessing, as a soil, a warm 
sandy loam, always easily drained, usually presenting no great 
obstacle to irrigation, and now being generally recognized as 
the soil capable of the widest range of production. Third, the 
high bluff lands watered by mountain streams, usually toa 
sandy for cultivation, but naturally affording the most ample 
and nutritious pasturage for horses, cattle and sheep. 

CLIMATE.— The climate of the county, as of tlie state, is 
controlled by altitude. The winters are not severe, and the 
summers are always temperate. Clear, frosty days, with an 
occasional exceptionally cold night; usually severe weather in 
March; some very warm days in summer, but it never fails to- 
bring coolness and' reviving breezes in the night. The sun- 
shine of the county, as of the state, is remarkable not only for 
its brilliancy but for its persistency, cloudy days being in this- 
section much the exception. 

IRRIGATION.— In all of the populated valleys of the 
county, canals and ditches thread the surface in every direction. 
No farmer depends upon the rainfall, but contemplates his 
crops always with a degree of certainty so far as moisture is- 
concerned. 

HORTICULTURE.— The short duration of our warm' 
weather makes horticulture a matter of little interest here. 

AGRICULTURE.— The production of timothv and wild 
hay, alfalfa, oats, barley in sorhe sections, and winter wheat 
and potatoes, occupy the sole attention of our farmers. Pos- 
sessing a soil singularly fertile and lasting, Uinta county offers- 
unexceptional inducements to the agriculturist, with the assur- 
ance that the waters will never fail; that his crops will never 



WESTON COUNTY. 



45 



be blighted by drouth, and that abundant harvest will surely 
follow seed time. 

TIMBER. — Throughout the county timber is abundant 
on the hill sides for lumber, fuel and mining purposes. Yellow 
and white pine, some cedar and spruce, cottonwood and aspen 
are the principal growths. Saw-mills are in operation in many 
portions of the county, and much lumber is produced. 

MINING. — On the banks of the Snake and Gros Ventre 
rivers, placer mining has been carried on with indifferent re- 
sults. In this end of the county no developed properties now 
exist, outside of extensive coal mines. The supply of coal in 
the county is practically inexhaustible. Other minerals have 
been found, but are undeveloped. 



\VESTON COUNTY. 



Weston county, organized May 14, 1890, is one hundred 
miles long by forty-eight miles w^ide, comprising 3,133,440 
acres. It is bounded on the north by Crook county, on the 
south by Converse county, on the west by Johnson county and 
on the east by the state line of South Dakota. The county 
lias a population of about 3,200. The total assessed valuation 
of all kinds of property, in 1897, was $1,174,203, divided as fol- 
lows: Railroads and telegraph lines, $268,417; farm lands 
and improvements, $192,867; town lots and improvements, 
$105,625; cattle, $437,118; horses, $37,743; sheep, $26,696; 
all other property, $105,737. County indebtedness, $39,801* 
(bonded). 

Weston county, although enjoying an altitude between 
four and five thousand feet above the sea level, and possessing 
good soils, is not so well watered as other sections of the state, 
owing to the absence of large streams, having their sources in 
the lofty mountains of the snowy ranges. The rainfall, how- 
•ever, is considerably greater than at a higher altitude, averag- 
ing from eighteen to twenty inches per annum. The dark 



46 STATE OF WYOAIING. 

loamy soils, in parts of the county, are quite productive' with- 
out irrigation, and the reddish gypsum soils, found at the base 
of table lands, retain the moisture and are very fertile. The 
chief precipitation is in the spring and early summer, and crops 
make rapid progress from germination to maturity. Very 
little irrigating is done in the county, the most of the land, in 
the valleys, being adapted to agriculture without the artificial 
application of water. Wild fruits of the smaller varieties, such 
as plums, gooseberries, currants, strawberries, etc., grow plen- 
tifully. All the farm products known in the northern latitudes 
are produced in this region, even Indian corn, and the yield, if at 
all favorable, is most excellent. Wheat of the spring varieties, 
such as Fife, Oregon and Niagara, often yield over fifty bushels; 
rye over forty, oats seventy to even one hundred bushel's, and 
corn of the FHnt, Dent, Squaw and other varieties, also make 
good returns. Timothy, alfalfa, red clover and other tame 
grasses are cultivated with success, as are also potatoes, ruta- 
bagas, turnips, carrots and sugar beets, the last named pro- 
ducing as high as six tons per acre, with 20 per cent of sugar^ 
as shown by analysis. Of the region around Newcastle, the 
county seat, it is said, that not over one-tenth of the arable 
land is under cultivation. Stock growing makes an excellent 
accompaniment of farming throughout this region. Short- 
horns, Hereford, Sussex and West Highlands find favor for 
the range; the Shorthorn, Ayreshire and Holstein for the 
dairy. Horses also receive much attention and are increasing 
in importance. 

There is good pine timber in the Black Hills, |,nd numer- 
ous saw-mills supply the wants of the settler. Gypsum is found 
in inexhaustible quantities, and superior building stones, in- 
cluding granite, lime, etc.. Salt-producing springs have been 
discovered near Jenny's, Stockade, and an oil district, in the 
same locality, covers over four hundred square miles. Weston 
county is famous for its coal, which finds a ready market in the 
adjoining states of South Dakota and Nebraska, and along the 
line of the Burlington railroad, which traverses the entire length 
of the county, east and west. 

NEWCASTLE, the countv seat, is a thriving town. The 
first building was erected in September, 1889, the Burlington 
railroad having reached that point the previous month. After 
the discovery of coal, the population grew very rapidly, and, 
at the present time, is about 1,000. In 1890, extensive water- 
works were constructed at a cost of over $100,000 by the Cam- 
bria Mining company, which furnishes an abundant supply of 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 47 

water for Cambria, Newcastle and the great coal mines; a 
$6,oco town hall was built, and later a $12,000 school building 
was erected. Within the immediate vicinity are several oil 
wells, the first discovery being made fifteen years ago. AH 
lines of business are well represented and prosperous. 

CAMBRIA is a coal mining town, the population being 
actively engaged in that industry. The quality of coal mined 
is excellent, and is elsewhere described in this publication. 
Modern equipment and methods are the characteristics of the 
mining plant. 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 



BY HON. ELWOOD MEAD, 
vState Enofineer. 



In describing the agriculture of this state, many interest- 
ing facts will have to be left out. Details cannot be given, 
only general statements. The diversity of climates and condi- 
tions is so great that to discuss the peculiar features of each 
agricultural district would take more pages than are at my dis- 
posal. In some ways this limit will make this description 
incomplete. No general statement will fit all sections of the 
state. In the Wheatland colony grain is the principal product. 
In Jackson's Hole there is no grain; cattle are the farmers* 
mainstay. Lauder farmers, one hundred and fifty miles from 
a railroad, must pursue different methods from those near 
Douglas, with two railway connections with the outside world. 
There is a wider difference in climate between the Laramie 
plains, with their elevation of 7,000 feet above sea level, and 
the lands arouqd Sheridan at half that elevation, than there is- 



.48 STATE OF WYOMING. 

between Sheridan and Salt Lake. Many settlements are iso- 
lated and have developed local peculiarities, both in methods 
and ideas. Thus Star Valley is a region of small farms. There 
are more 160-acre tracts than of larger areas. On Clear creek 
the reverse is true. One ranch extends along the stream 
fifteen miles. The districts settled by range cattle or sheep- 
men do not resemble the districts settled by small farmers from 
Utah, either in appearance or the views of the land owners. 
All I can hope to do, and all that will be attempted, is to explain 
to those interested in the state, and those looking for homes, 
how large is the opportunity here presented, and how great a 
range there is for individual chance. 

FARMING, THE STx\TE'S MOST STABLE INDUSTRY. 

My first work as State Engineer was to meet the farmers 
and learn what kind of ditches had been built, and how they 
were being used. To do this, I spent the entire summer of 
1888 traveling over the state in a wagon. After a journey of 
'Over a thousand miles, and after looking at irrigated land in 
more than half the counties of the stat6, and talking" water rights 
with farmers until I dreamed about them, I sat down one night 
in Sheridan with my companion and went over the situation. 
It was discouraging. While, so far as I could see, the land, 
vvater and climate were just as good ae it was in Colorado or 
Utah, there was a difference in conditions and sentiment that 
-seemed to make the future full of doubt. 

More than half the land owners talked with, pinned their 
faith to the open range. Irrigation was a side issue. Farming 
alone, we were told over and over as:ain, would not pay. And 
the way much of the land examined was being farmed, it could 
not pay. Men owning six hundred acres would have sixty 
under cultivation. Too many men did their 'ifrigation' on 
Tiorseback. -u- ' ' 

Among the small farmers, about nine oiit of ten were in 
debt. Interest rates were from 12 to 24 per cent. Most of 
the farms had recently been filed on. A large outlay was 
needed for fencing, grading and buildings. Many homes were 
mortgaged to pay land office charges. So many farmers were 





ityaaiMta- 



fi^WB 



riELD PRODUCTS, WYOMING. 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. ^9 

discouraged, that if I had wanted to be a land-grabber, I could 
have secured thousands of acres by simply assuming the mort- 
gages. It seemed as though the money lender was in a fair 
way to take the state. The high rates of interest seemed to 
me to have no other outcome. 

The ten years which have intervened have shown that 
farming is one of the state's most solid and best paying indus- 
tries. None others have kept pace with it in growth, and no 
class of citizens have as much to show for their ten years' labor. 
The men with mortgaged homes and burdened w4th the op- 
pressive drain of 2 per cent a month have nearly all not only 
cleared this off, but have a bank account of their own. Land 
values are beginning to rise. New homes are being built; 
more land is being reclaimed, and there has been an entire 
change in sentiment about the possibilities of Wyoming's agri- 
culture. 

Anyone who will compare the valleys of Box Elder, La 
Prelle and La Bonte creeks, in Converse county, as they were 
ten years ago with what they are today, can form some idea as 
to whether farming pays. 

Then Wheatland was a town of one house. Sheridan was 
a collection of board shanties. Star Valley was an experiment 
one year old. 

There are two reasons for the unusual success of Wyom- 
ing farmers. The first is large area of free public land and a 
limited area of cheap state land on which to pasture herds of 
cattle or flocks of sheep. The best results have been had from 
uniting farming and stock raising. The old idea that the range 
was the thing was largely true, but this is now giving way to 
the more humane and safer plan of uniting the grazing and irri- 
gated lands. The second is the high price of farm products. 
Wyoming still has to import large quantities of hay and grain, 
and practically all the fruit consumed in the state. There are 
few sections where the supply of any staple crop equals the 
demand, hence, prices are higher than in many of the large sea- 
board cities. 

The following table gives prices in a number of towns in 
the leading agricultural sections on May i, 1898: 



50 



STATE OF WYOMING. 





^- 


^ 


0- ^ 


-g 8 


o 


o 


8 


8 


8 


SoS 


8 


8 


8 




1 


«^ 


*i • z£ 


" 


" 


^' 


lO 


'" 


!?q5co 


X 


^' 


■^ 


^- 




























i 


a 


s 


g 


8 








8 




8 


oS S 


o8 8 




















TfH 




>c 


-2 S 


"-35 g 




^ 


^ 


























l-J 


























11 


S 




8 




8 


^ 


8. 


8 


^1 


"^ 


8 


8 




^ 








" 


^ 


LT 


i^ 


CO 


g 


^ 


^ 


u 




























% 


^ 


g 


S 


S 


s 


S 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 




£5 






lC 




c4 


,_! 


00 


o 


■*■ 


c 


o 


o 




3 


„ 


















C^( 


CO 


Tfl 


1 


S 


iC 


s 


s 


^ 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 


^ 

^ 




m 










" 


o 


c< 


lo* 


S 


g 


§■ 




























o 




























H 


X 


a 


o 


s 


X 


8 


O 




8 


s . 


8 


8 


8 


^ 








cc 




^ 


-■ 




t- 


CO 


^' g? ^ 1 


C 


M 


^ 




















































v^ 




:x: 




















O 


^ 


a 


2 


8 


8 


^ 


o 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 


8 




tc 










^ 


^ 


■^ 


c 


is" 


oc 


lit 


o 




p 






















CO 


Tfl 






9S 






















































hi 


































^ 


















i 




g 


LO 


g 


^ 


S 


s. 


8 


8 


' 1 


8 


^" g 


S.oS 




tl 






tc 




" 


-^ 


GO 


t> 




1^ 


g^ 


g-^ 




H 


^ 
























?. 




























1 


^ 


^ 


8 


oS 8 


S 


^. 


8 


8 


OO S 


8 


5 


SoS 










cOH^cc — 


,_! 


^ 


IC 


Tf 


-»SC0 TlH 


QC 


(M 


cq+JiC 
























<M 


CO CO 




«& 
























W. 






























«:• 




























rj 


a 


c< 




^ 


S. 


12 


8 


8 


8 


5 


5 


8 




"5 










^ 


■-I 


00 


^ 


CO 


g^ 


S5 


s 




a 


m 


























c^ 






























^ 
























\r. 


!^ 


8 


oS 8 


o 


s. 


8 


8 


8 


8 


g 


8 








co+^« ^ 


--< 


^ 


00 


CJ 


lO 


§ 


i 


s" 




uS 


^ 






















1 










1/ 




CO 










'C 


t3 






t: 




a 


^1 
1 


a 


3 


% 




c 

1 


c 


CO 


O 










■ \ 




u 


1 
1 


i 




i 




1 










: 1 


z 




1 


s 

1 


a 
> 


p. 
ft 




I 










3 - b 


e X 


c 


3 c3 


^ 




^ 




•2 






P 


5 P^ 


C 


) A 


H O 


^ 


^ 


CO 


a 


a 


02 ■ 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 51 

These prices are higher than the average of the past ten 
years; those of hve stock much higher, but there has not been 
a time in that period when a ton of hay or five hundred pounds 
of oats would not pay for an acre of irrigated land which would 
each year produce two tons of the first or a thousand pounds 
of the second. 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR SETTLERS AND HOME- 
SEEKERS. 

Land in Wyoming must be irrigated to raise profitable 
■crops. The exceptions to this statement are too limited to be 
worth considering. Settlers can do nothing towards making 
homes on the fifty million acres of non-irrigable lands. Of the 
irrigable land only about 10 per cent is novv being cultivated. 
More than this is under ditches, but the greater part is still 
vacant public land. 

There are still a few places where small, cheap ditches can 
be built, but they are in remote localities and usually at high 
elevations where production is limited. On the head of Green 
river are large tracts of easily irrigated land, but there are frosts 
every month in the year,, and hay is the only crop which can be 
depended on. The same situation exists along the head- 
waters of Snake, Wind and Sweetwater rivers. Here, although 
cheap ditches are possible, the land is worth but little after they 
are built. I know of no section of the state having an altitud'e 
of 6,000 feet or less where public land, which can be cheaply 
watered, is open to settlement, and letters received at the State 
Engineer's office from all over the state make the same state- 
ment. Those looking for homes are not, however, restricted 
to public land. Land already patented and reclaimed can be 
bought for less than the improvements on it cost. Farming 
lands are the cheapest property in Wyoming, and they are 
cheaper than in any of the surrounding states. As a result, 
an irrigated farm can be bought outright much cheaper than it 
can be created. In order to ascertain what are the opportu- 
nities in different sections of the state, a letter of inquiry was 
addressed to some responsible citizen in each county. RepHes 



52 STATE OF WYOMING. 

were not received from all, but from those which came, the 
following selections have been made: 

Edward Gillette, member of the State Board of Control,, 
writes from Sheridan county: 

This county combines in an exceedingly favorable manner 
crop raising and stock raising. The range grasses here are 
considered by stockmen to be unexcelled, an evidence of this 
is in the fact that range beef from this county usually receives, 
the highest price for that class of beef in the Chicago market. 
Referring to the crops, they also receive the highest awards,, 
both for quality and quantity. 

The price of land here at present is low; good land, with 
fair water rights, can be had at ten dollars per acre. Farmers, 
and stockmen who are well established in their business will 
not sell for twenty-five dollars per acre, and do not care, as a. 
rule, to entertain any proposition to sell. 

It would appear from the earning power of the land that 
its worth should be from forty to fifty dollars per acre, and I 
have no doubt but that such will be the case in a few years. 

In a new country like this some farmers, or so-called, at 
least, are alwavs found who will sell out, not knowing when 
they have a good thing, and naturally more inclined to wander 
about than to settle down to real work. 

The lower bottom land along the streams is practically alt 
settled at present. Nothing, as yet, worth mentioning has 
been done toward reclamation of the upper bench lands. These- 
lands, however, will, no doubt, make our best farms in the 
future. We have not reached that stage in our development 
where water is stored in the natural sites for reservoirs along- 
our mountain streams. Judging from the success of reservoirs 
in Colorado, we are on the eve of a great development along 
that line in this country, where freight rates to Chicago are the 
same as from Colorado points. Fuel is abundant and cheap, 
being delivered at Sheridan in car-load lots at one dollar per 
ton. The favorite method of farmers in this locality is to lease 
from the state large pastures of good grazing land in connec- 
tion with their irrigated lands; this insures a good business 
in raising stock as well as crops. Cattle raising is the most 
prosperous business, and probably will be so for a long time to 
come, owing to the vast ranges of fine grazing lands in this 
section of country. When our agricultural lands are increased' 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 53 

two-fold by means of reservoirs in the mountains, the percent- 
age of farm lands will be exceedingly small as compared with 
the vast acreage of land covered with nutritious grasses, and 
which seems specially made for extensive stock purposes. The 
farmers who lease grazing lands from the state at a few cents 
per acre per year, take great care to preserve and increase the 
:growth of grasses thereon and thereby insure for themselves 
a safe, sure and exceedingly profitable business for all time to 
come. The average elevation of farm lands in this county is 
a little under 4,000 feet above sea level, Sheridan, the county 
seat, being 3,720. The Big Horn mountains and valleys which 
compose this county are similar to the Wasatch mountains and 
rich valleys of Utah, while the rolling country between the 
valleys is covered thickly with the finest growth of grasses, 
while in Utah sage brush and a comparative barren country 
'exists. 

The climate here is good; the chinook, or warm winds 
from the Pacific ocean, keep the range open during the winter, 
'the streams abouncli in trout, and insure a supply of pure 
and cool water for domestic purposes. Mining prospects in 
the adjacent mountains indicate that before long the mining of 
copper, gold, silver and nickel will be extensively prosecuted. 
As a rule, the best farmers appear to be those who pay most for 
their farms, and the farms costing the most produce the best 
incomes. This need not deter the good farmer, without means, 
frohi coming to this country, for in two years' time he can pay 
for a good farm here, on the present low price for land, off from 
the crops raised. 

It is my belief that in a very few years farm lands in this 
section will be worth two or three times what they are at pres- 
ent: this is a sure thing, if there is anything in the fact that 
the value of property is based upon what income it will produce. 

The supply of water here is good and can easily be in- 
creased. For purpose of raising hay it is practically unlim- 
ited at present. 

The conditions in Johnson county are practically the same 
as those of Sheridan. The irrigable lands are watered from 
the Big Horn mountains: the elevation, climate and markets 
are the same. Land in Johnson county is somewhat cheaper 
than in Sheridan. I am informed that excellent ranches having 
adjudicated water rights can be purchased from five to fifteen 
dollars an acre, depending upon the character of the buildings, 
distance from town, etc. 



54 STATE OF WYOMING. 

N. H. Brown, Superintendent of Water Division No. 3^ 
gives the following facts relative to prices and yields in the 
valley surrounding Lander: 

Crops grown here are mainly hay — alfalfa, timothy and 
native; grain— oats, wheat and barley; vegetables — potatoes, 
cabbage, beets, turnips, tomatoes, cucumbers, squashes, celery, 
asparagus, and all kinds of vegetables commonly grown in 
Wisconsin, Michigan and New York, but generally better in 
quality and producing much more per acre. 

Average yield of alfalfa hay is five tons per acre. Timothy 
one and one-half tons. Native, about one ton. 

Oats yield an average of forty bushels per acre; wheat,, 
about thirty-five bushels, and barley about thirt} bushels. 

Cattle are almost universally close herded in summer and 
pastured in winter until about the first of March, then fed until 
grass comes in April. 

Sheep and horses have nearly all the open range. Hog 
raising is fairly profitable. 

There are a good many ranches for sale. Irrigated land 
is held at fifteen to twenty-five dollars per acre. There is 
plenty of water for irrigation, and water rights are all good, 
except late appropriations on some of the small streams. 

Th-? only place I know where men of small means can take 
irrigable public land is on upper Big Wind river, but the cou'^- 
try is high and cold, suitable for stock raising only. 

In Big Horn county there is probably more unoccupied 
land under completed ditches than in any other section of the 
state. Three of the projects undertaken under the Carey act 
are situated in this countv. Under the Cody canal about 
20,090 acres of public land can be purchased for fifty cents an 
acre; shares in the canal, ten dollars an acre. There are about 
20,000 or 25,000 acres under the canals of the Big Horn Basin 
Development company, and a few thousand acres under the 
canal of the Yellowstone Park Irrigation company, which can 
be had on equally favorable terms. In all of these cases long 
time is given on payments for (Mnal shares, with interest at & 
per cent. On the east side of the Big Horn basin considerable 
land can be brought under cultivation by extending the ditches 
already taken out. I think it would be no exaggeration to say 
that iti Big Horn county three times as much land can be cul- 
tivated as is now devoted to crops without building a single 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 55 

additional ditch. All that is needed is more settlers. Irrigated 
lands in this county, along; the smaller streams and under pri- 
vate ditches, can be purchased at from five to ten dollars an 
acre, on long time payments. 

The following statement relative to Big Horn county has 
been submitted to me by Mr. W. S. Collins: 

Kind of crops which can be grown: Wheat, twenty to 
forty bushels per acre; oats, thirty-five to eighty bushels per 
acre, weight, thirty-five to fifty-two pounds; alfalfa, three to 
five tons per acre; native hay, red top, timothy, one and one- 
half to three tons per acre; corn, thirty to seventy-five bushels 
per acre. 

Cost of land and water: Land, from four to ten dollars 
per acre, with good ditches complete and plenty of water. 
Water costs from fifty cents to ten dollars per acre. 

Opportunities for outside range, first-class; good profit 
and no risk in raising stock, except the wolves are troublesome 
on outside range in some localities. 

More of everything raised last year than ever before. In 
spite of the cry of over-production, prices are better and vege- 
tables, hay and grain scarcer than any previous year. 

Our county, made up of valley, table land and mountain 
slopes, is adapted to the raising of all the crops that are grown 
in Illinois or Iowa. Home cattle and sheep can each find the 
locality most suitable. 

Corn is a staple crop. Many farmers In the valleys, and 
even on the table land, are turning their attention to the raising 
of hogs, pasturing on alfalfa in summer, fattening them in the 
fall on corn. 

Yes, there are plenty of lands yet not taken where water 
can be obtained to irrigate at small expense. Lands are very 
cheap here — too cheap. I do not think that there is a locality 
in the state where lands are as cheap. It cannot remain long 
in this way. There is too much difference between prices of 
farms here and the prices of the products of these farms. 

Along the Platte valley, In the vicinity of Douglas and 
Casper, farm lands have recently advanced in price, so that 
desirable ranches will sell today for double what they would 
two years ago. The thing which does much to determine the 
value of a ranch in this section is its water front. Range stock- 
men are beginning to buy ranches, and the thing that they 



56 STATE OF WYOMING. 

scrutinize most closely is the control which the water front 
gives them of the public grazing land back of it. Among the 
recent sales made was a ranch of i,8oo acres in Bates' Hole, 
which sold, with its water rights, for $15,000. Two ranches 
of one hundred and sixty acres each sold for $1,300 and $1,500 
respectively, the water rights in each case being figured as 
worth $5.00 per acre. Thirteen hundred acres of land, without 
water rights, sold for $5,000. Throughout this region the 
farmers are generally Very prosperous, and there are but fo^v 
ranches for sale. A few miles west of Casper, A. J. Bothwell, 
one of the large land owners in that section, is endeavoring to 
cultivate and eventually dispose of his lands by leasing them to 
settlers in small tracts. As this is a new departure in this 
state, the following extract from an article in the Casper Der- 
rick is inserted, giving an outline of his plan: 

Under all the contracts let, Mr. Bothwell keeps the ditches 
in repair and delivers the water for irrigation on the land leased 
by each farmer and guarantees a market for all hay and grain 
raised, agreeing that the' price of grain shall not be less than 
one cent per pound. 

Under one form of contract Mr. Bothwell makes with 
farmers understanding how to grow alfalfa, he leases to the 
farmer one hundred acres of ground with the water delivered 
on the land for irrigation. The farmer plants the land in small 
grain the first year, and the second seeds it to alfalfa. All hay 
and grain grown thereon the first two years belongs exclusively 
to the farmer. Upon the alfalfa cutting three tons of hay at 
two cuttings in one season, the land is turned back to the 
owner at the rate of ten dollars p^r acre in cash, and one dollar 
per ton for stacking the tons of hay grown thereon, thus making 
thirteen dollars per acre paid the farmer the year the land is 
turned back, besides getting all he produced on the land the 
two previous years. 

Under this form of contract the farmer furnishes every- 
thing, and if at the delivery of the field of alfalfa to Mr. Bothwell 
the farmer wishes to remain on the property, a permanent con- 
tract will be made with him to manage, grow, stack and feed 
to stock the hay raised on said land. 

Another form of contract is when the farmer knows noth- 
ing of raising alfalfa, but understands the growing of small 
grains. Mr. Bothwell leases him one hundred acres of land, 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 57 

with water delivered on the land and seed to plant the same for 
the consideration of one-half the crop grown thereon. 

Contracts will also be made with farmers to grow small 
grain by the pound, prices to depend upon what is expected to 
be furnished by the owner of the land. Under this form deals 
will be made where the farmer furnishes everything, or where 
he furnishes the labor only, seed, machinery and teams being 
furnished by Bothwell. 

Lands, with water for irrigation, will be leased in one hun- 
dred acre tracts, by the acre, if wanted, payment to be made 
in cash, rent or in grain. 

In a letter explaining his project and giving the reasons 
therefor, Mr. Bothwell enters on a very interesting and, I think, 
correct discussion of the agricultural conditions of this state. 
I quote a portion of his letter: 

It is a difHcult job for any man to hire help and farm sev- 
eral thousand acres of irrigated lands at a profit. It costs 
about forty-five dollars per month to wage and board a man, 
his labor is worth in the farming business really about one-half 
that amount. Hence, the lack of profit to the large land owner 
in Wyoming. Now, I am trying to get the farmer to farm my 
lands on exactly the basis that all farmers work their own lands 
in all countries. Great crops are always raised irrespective of 
the cost of production or the market. Owing to the summer 
grazing in Wyoming, I hope to be always able to give the 
farmer as much for all the crop he raises on this land as he gets 
in Colorado for his share. I can give two dollars per ton for 
all alfalfa in the stack raised on my land, while the Colorado 
renter sells his share for that, hence the advantage accruing 
to the producer w^ho comes here, instead of farming on shares 
elsewhere. Cattlemen and large land owners can use any 
amount of alfalfa if it does not cost here more than it sells for 
in Colorado, which is from two to two and a half dollars per 
ton. 

I think that the agricultural development of this state must 
be brought about by teaching owners of large tracts of land 
how to make this land productive in a way that will pay better 
than to use the land for grazing only, as at present. To dis- 
member these large ranches and cut them up in small tracts, 
occupied by farmers, requires detail management. You cannot 
legislate farmers into Wyoming. They must be brought in 
by individual effort. Advertisement will not keep a poor 
farmer from starving away when he comes and finds only a 
sheep range for him to begin work upon. On the other hand, 



58 STATE OF WYOMING. 

all the best and cheaply watered land is now owned, and I know 
of no large owner of land that is not wondering how he can get 
an income out of his land without it costing two dollars for 
every one produced. 

In reply to my inquiry regarding the acreage and prices, 
of irrigated lands which can be purchased outright in Sweet- 
water and Upper Platte valleys, Mr. Bothwell writes as follows: 

In regard to lands in this section that may be for sale, and. 
the price asked, it is hard for me to give you any information. 
In a general way, I would say that it could all be purchased,, 
but I don't know of any large, or small, owner of land that 
would sell the land in small tracts unless it was certain -4;hat it 
could all be disposed of within a short season. All the ranches^ 
have more or less grazing land that lies above the ditches, and 
other parts under the irrigation ditches that would not be desir- 
able for homes in small tracts for poor settlers. The whole 
property has been gotten together with the view of conducting 
a permanent live stock business, and for a large land owner to- 
begin to seU his best irrigated tracts, such as is suitable for a 
home for a small farmer, would soon leave him with the unde- 
sirable portions of his ranch on his hands, and the portions sold 
would be those tracts absolutely nece'ssary for hini to retain as 
long as he continued in business. The whole ranch, with its 
live stock, forming one piece of business property, the disposal 
of any part would be fatal to the success of the whole. 

There are about 25,000 acres of land under ditch within a 
radius of twenty-five miles from me, and as a rule possess good, 
ample water rights, all being well ditched and fenced and other- 
wise improved. 

I know of no tract of land belonging to the public domain 
in this section that can be irrigated cheaply by men of limited- 
means. If the state, or any other party, should ever construct 
the reservoir at Devil's Gate on the Sweetwater river, recentl}^ 
examined and reported upon by Captain H. M. Chittenden, 
Corps of Engineers, U. S. A., under the provisions of the 
Warren clause of the River and Harbor bill, it would then bc' 
possible to irrigate some 50,000 acres of land in this immediate 
vicinitv. Under the present laws, however, private capital" 
invested in the construction of the reservoir would be absc- 
lutelv without securitv of anv kind. 



AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT. 



59 



Hon. Joseph ]\L Carey, President of the Wyoming Devel- 
opment company, whose lands are located in Laramie coimty, 
fifty miles north of Cheyenne, replying, writes as follows: 

Replying to your letters of recent date, I will state that 
irrigated lands at Wheatland, of good quality, can be purchased 
for twenty dollars per acre. This includes a perpetual water 
right. The lands are not remote from the railroad station. 

By actual experiments, these lands have been found well 
adapted for the growing of all cereals successfully grown in 
this latitude. The lands are exceedingly well adapted for the 
growing of all root products, such as potatoes, sugar beets, 
turnips, etc., and there is no better country for the growing of 
the ordinary vegetables. Certain varieties of Indian corn do> 
well with limited irrigation. 

I do not believe there is a better country for the growing 
of alfalfa; three crops are cut each season. 

Farm machinery is but a trifle higher than it is in Iowa, 
and Alissouri, the only difference being the freight. Hard- 
ware, dry goods and groceries are cheap. 

It is difficult to give the price of farm products, because- 
of the great changes constantly taking place, especially has 
this has ben the case during the years 1897-98. Some farmers 
have sold their wheat for one dollar and forty cents a hundred, 
and others did not receive more than ninety cents. Some have 
secured as high as a dollar a hundred for potatoes, while others 
have sold for sixty-live cents. Oats have brought from sixty- 
five cents to eighty-five cents a hundred pounds. 

With reference to fruit growing in the Wheatland colony,. 
I have this to say, so far as experiments have been made flatter- 
ing results have been obtained. I saw a fine quality of apples, 
plums and cherries grown last year. There have been large 
yields of strawberries, gooseberries and currants. 

It has been demonstrated from experiments during the 
last five years that sugar beets yield largely in the Wheatland 
colony, and possess a very high measure of sugar, running from 
16 per cent to 24 per cent, the test being made by the Agricult- 
ural Department of the United States and by the University of 
Wyoming. 

In other parts of the county land under smaller ditches 
can be had for from ten to twenty dollars per acre, and letters- 
from the various counties of southern Wyoming show that the 
present value of irrigated farm lands ranged from five to twenty 



'6o STATE OF WYOMING. 

< 

•dollars per acre. Many of the large ranch owners in Uinta 
county are proceeding to break up their holdings and sell them 
in small tracts. 

From C. H. Priest, Superintendent Water Division No. 4, 
I was furnished a list of large tracts of land in Uinta county, 
which the owners desire to dispose of. From this list it appears 
that along Bear river and Black's Fork creek and its tributaries, 
there are numerous tracts of reclaimed and improved land 
-offered for sale from five to fifteen dollars an acre. These 
lands are very p»roductive, and they are adjacent to what I 
regard as one of the best local markets in the United States. I 
believe they are far below their productive value, and that they 
are destined to be much higher within the next five years. 

Last year I made a trip through Jackson's Hole, probably 
the best watered section of the west; certainly the best watered 
section of this state. While there I formed a very high opinion 
of the possibilities of this region as a cattle growing district. 
One of the oldest, as well as most successful, stock raisers of 
that district is Mr. Robert E. Miller, who kindly furnished me 
with the following statement of the production and possibilities 
of that region: 

The crops in this valley are principally hay — native, red 
top, timothy and alfalfa. 

Potatoes are not a sure crop. 

Rutabagas, turnips, carrots, parsnips and cabbage are a 
sure crop — cannot estimate the yield per acre of vegetables for 
lack of experience. 

Hay of all kinds can be raised successfully, averaging from 
one to two and a half tons per acre, owing to kind, season and 
attention. 

The future of our valley as a farming country is doubtful, 
as it has frosts every month in the year. 

This valley is naturally adapted to cattle raising, being 
entirely surrounded by high ranges of mountains that cut us 
•of¥ from all outside ranges. The low lands are limited, our 
winters are long, requiring that all animals must be fed from 
ninety to one hundred and twenty days each year. 

Then, with an unlimited summer range in comparison to 
the amount of low lands upon which must be raised the feed for 
winter, this valley raises Wyoming's best cattle. 






n 


(_( 




Z 


Ol 














i—i 


"^ 


H 


CQ 


tD 


d 


z 


TJ 




n 


§ 





r^ 


m 






>^ 


o 



TAXES AND PUBLIC IXDEBTEDNESS. 6i 

The number of animals handled is regulated by the number- 
of tons of hay raised, as it requires one ton of hay for every 
animal wintered ,which necessarily confines the stock raising to 
poor men. 

There are a few ranches yet unlocated in this valley that 
can be made into hay-bearing land in about three years, and at. 
an expense of about six dollars per acre. 

The water supply in this valley is unlimited, owing to our- 
nearness to the heads of the streams. 

There are no ranches for sale in this valley at present.. 
There is no market for produce of any kind, owing to our- 
isolated condition. 

There are no stores in here, consequently the rancher must 
buy enough supplies in the fall for the following year. 

So long as improved farm land remains as low as it is at 
present, it will not pay to build canals to direct our large rivers. 
It will coit from ten to twenty dollars an acre to put water on' 
the bench lands bordering either the Platte, Green or Big Horn 
rivers, and it will take millions of dollars to build the canals. 
Capital cannot be had for this work so long as there is no secur- 
ity for its investment, and while land and water can be had for 
less than these canals will cost. So long as these conditions 
continue, Wyoming will never be what it should be as an agri- 
cultural state. The largest and best bodies of farming lands: 
are in the valleys of these main streams, and they provide the^ 
most stable water supply. 



Taxes and Public Indebtedness. 



The wise restrictions in the state constitution are a sure- 
guarantee that in Wyoming taxation will never be excessive, 
or the public debt burdensome. It is there provided that for- 
state revenue there shall not be levied to exceed four mills on 
the dollar of th.e assessed value of property for all state pur- 
poses, except for the payment of the public debt with interest,. 
and the support of state educational and charitable institutions^. 



62 STATE OF WYOMING. 

and not to exceed twelve mills on the dollar for all county pur- 
poses, excepting- state revenue and the county debt. Special 
school taxes may be authorized by the qualified voters of the 
several districts. 

Incorporated cities and towns are limited to eight mills on 
•the dollar, excepting for the payment of their public debt. 

The state debt is limited to i per cent of the assessed valu- 
ation, while 2 per cent is the limitation on counties, cities and 
towns. 

The tax levy for all state purposes in the year 1897 was 
six mills, while the county levies for the sarne year averaged 
-about fourteen mills for all purposes. The 1897 tax is a fair 
index cf past years. 

The state revenue is derived from taxes, official fees and 
rent of public lands. All public officers are paid fixed salaries, 
.and the fees collected by them are paid into the pubhc treasury, 
thus realizing annually to the public a large sum; in fact,' 
nearly every officer collects a sum equal to the expense of his 
department. From the rent of public lands a large revenue 
is derived, which is used for the support of certain state institu- 
tions and the schools. ' - 

The legislative body is composed of a total of fifty-seven 
members, whose per diem is five dollars per day for a limited 
biennial session of forty days. All other official salaries are 
moderate, and general state and county expenses have been 
reduced to a minimum. The plan of makmg each department 
of state and county government and every public institution 
self-supporting has been countenanced and authorized by wise 
legislation. 

There is nothing in the present situation to indicate that 
the rate of taxation in Wyoming will increase, but, on the con- 
trary, reasonable expectation that with settlement and devel- 
opment will come a corresponding increase of taxable wealth 
to carry its proportionate share of governmental expense, thus 
reducing the general levy. 

The amount of bonded indebtedness of the school districts 
of the different counties is given in the article on Educational 
Advantages. 

The total bonded debt of the state is $320,000, while that 
cf the counties varies and may be ascertained from the following 
table: 



MINERAL RESOURCES, 



ez 



BONDED INDEBTEDNESS OF THE COUNTIES AND 
PRINCIPAL CITIES OF WYOMING. 



ooiUiNiTY. a:mount. 

Albany $142,000.00 

*Big Horn 

iGai^bon 144.000.00 

Converse 60,000.00 

Crnok 80,000.00 

Fremont 46,000.00 

Jolinson 75,000.00 

Lai'amie 400.000.00 

■Najtrona 22,000.00 

Sheindan 31,000.00 

Sweetwater 93,000.00 

Uinta ... 103,500.00 

Weston 39,800.00 



iCITlY. AMOUNT. 
iLaramie $ 86,400.00 

Riavvlins 35,000.00 

Douglas 8,000.00 

•Sundance 15,000.00 

iBuffalO' 45,000.00 

lOheyenne 252,500.00 

Casper 23,000.00 

(Shieridan 75,000.^0 

iRoek Springs .■ 24,000.00 

E:va.nston 26,000.00 

NewcasOe 13,000.00 



* — A small amount of the Johnson, Fremont and Sheridan 
county Indebtedness may be decided by the court as properl); 
payable by Big Horn county, on account of the segregation of 
territory in forming a new county. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 



BY PROF. WILBUR C. KNIGHT, 
State Geologist. 



There are few states in the Union that possess mineral 
resources as vast and varied as Wyoming. But there is not 
another state as rich in mineral wealth, that the general public 
knows so Httle about, and where the resources are so univer- 
sally ignored. Located, as it is, in the midst of the Rocky 
mountains, and nearly surrounded with states of great mining 



64 STATE OF WYOMING. 

interests, it is unexplainable why Wyoming has never produced 
a Leadville, Aspen, Deadwood or Butte. The mountains are 
as high and rugged; they are traversed by mineraUzed veins 
and discoveries are numerous throughout the ranges. Camps 
have been lociated and prospectors have attempted, at least, to 
make some mines. This prospecting, hovv^ever, has never 
been thorough, the shafts are shallow and lateral development 
very slight. In fact, there is not a shaft in the state, so far as 
I know, that is 300 feet deep, and yet from shallow workings 
of this kind prospects have produced from $40,000 to $200,000. 
Unfortunately for Wyoming, the classes of men attempting 
mining have been those unex.perienced in any kind of mining; 
at the outset they anticipated that a small " expenditure this 
month meant large returns the next. They have considered 
hat a few hundred dollars would soon make a pro'Spect worth 
many thousands. They have been disappointed time and time 
again. This cfass has not reahzed that it costs on the average 
$35. ODD to make a mine out of a prospect, to say nothing of 
mills to work the ore. At the present time there is not a rea- 
sonably good prospect in this state that has been thoroughly 
prospected. This drawback, coupled with the work of dis- 
honest manipulations, has been the stumbling block in the 
mining industries in Wyoming. They can be removed, and 
as soon as this has been done, the mineral output will gradually 
increase until this state wall compare favorably with its near 
neighbors. Making a mine is like building up a profession or 
business. It takes money and time and careful manipulation, 
without which, only failure awaits anyone starting in the search 
for gold. 

The fact that gold, silver, copper and lead ores are known 
in every mountain range, is sufficient evidence that mines can 
be made here as in other, localities. Wliat Wyoming needs at 
this time more than anything else in connection with its min- 
eral resources, is a few thorough mining men, who have ample 
means to make a mine out of some of the good prospects. As. 
soon as it is proven that depth means a mme, then there wilt 
be no further trouble. There is not another state in the Rocky 
mountains with greater possibilities than Wyoming; none 
with so much pubHc domain subject to location as mineral land. 
Besides the precious metals, the wealth of coal, oil and gas will 
make Wyoming as great a state as Pennsylvania. 

GOLD MINING. — Gold mines were opened in Wyoming 
in 1867, since which date the industry has amounted to some- 
thing each year. The production per annum has fluctuated 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 65 

from $25,000 to cpi25,ooo. The placer mines that were rich 
tnougn to b^ worked with hmitea means, were worked out 
years ago. i^arge tracts of placer gold ground that can only 
be worKcd with great expenditure of money and the most 
modern and economic devices, remain. These are now owned 
by large companies, who are arranging to work them. The 
quartz veins, from which the most 01 the gold has been taken, 
and which will furnish the most of the yellow metal in the 
future, are found in all of the mountains. Districts that have 
been very prominent are as follows: The Sweetwater country; 
Seminoe .mountains, Medicine Bow mountains. Black Hills, 
Shoshone mountains, and the Laramie mountains. Recently 
the discoveries at Grand Encampment places the Sierra Madre 
mountains in this list. All of the camps mentioned have pro- 
duced some gold, and there are exceUent surface indications, 
but there is not an instance where there has been sufficient 
work done to absolutely prove the value of the veins. Pros- 
pects have been worked, and produced, and shut down. The 
owners having found a good ore chute near the surface, worked 
it out and would not continue the development. In conse- 
quence we have no great mines, and cannot have any until some 
enterprising company will sink a shaft deep enough to prospect 
the veins. As a rule, a vein with good ore near the surface is 
a very favorable prospect. These are common in Wyoming, 
and should the shafts be carried to sufficient depth, the veins 
will prove valuable. At present the industry is at its lowest 
ebb, brt in the future we may expect it to compare favorably 
with those of the adjoining states. This will happen when 
mining men with capital behind them, will go into the gold 
camps in Wyoming and prospect as they do in Colorado, but 
not b'fore. 

SILVER AND LEAD.— There are silver and lead pros- 
pects in nearly all of the mountain ranges. Galena is the 
leading ore, and it always has silver associated. The silver 
value varies from ten to six hundred ounces per ton- All of 
these prospects are located a long distance from the railroad. 
Camps have been located in Crook, Big Horn, Carbon, Albany 
and Laramie counties. While Wyoming may have as good 
lead and silver camps as any other state, it is a hard matter to 
interest capital in a proposition ranging from fifty to two hun- 
dred miles from the railroad. The productions of either of 
these metals is very small indeed. 

COPPER. — Copper prospects are very numerous. Mines 
have been successfully operated in Laramie and Carbon coun- 



66 STATE OF WYOMING. 

ties. The production has been about one thousand tons of 
refined copper. There are two classes of ores: The oxides 
and carbonates that are found. in the Hmestone, and the sul- 
phides that are found in nearly all formations. Recently copper 
properties at Jelm mountain and Grand Encampment have 
received much attention and will be worked this season. 

COAL MINES. — Coal mining is the leading mineral 
industry in the state, and will, in all probability, remain such 
for years to come. It had its origin with the advent of the 
transcontinental railroad, and has increased with the develop- 
ment of the state until today it employs an army of workmen 
and has a product of nearly 3,000,000 tons of coal per annum. 

The kinds of coal vary from a pure lignite to a high-grade 
long-flamed bituminous variety. A semi-anthracite was dis- 
covered in Johnson county in 1897. Coking coal has been 
discovered in two or three localities and coke ovens are ope- 
rated at Cambria. The best grades of coal are low in sulphur 
and ash, and are excellent fuels for locomotives, general steam 
making, domestic purposes, and gas producers. 

The coal fields are so universal that coal is known to exist 
in every county, and in all but one, coal mines are worked. The 
area of workable coal land is over 20,000 square^ miles ; and 
when the preliminary survey of the coal fields has been com- 
pleted, the coal producing territory will reach at least 25,000 
square miles. The coal veins are numerous. In a single field 
it is not an uncommon thing to find six or eight workable veins. 
In thickness the seams vary from a few to seventy-five feet. 
The coal mines operating^ at present have working veins vary- 
ing from four to forty feet. The coal lands are owned, to a 
large extent, by the Government, and are subject to location 
by any citizent who has not exhausted his right. Already 
three great railroads have penetrated these fields, but the indus- 
try has only started, and by the termination of another quarter 
of a century, Wyoming will be producting not less than 
io,oco,ooo tons of coal per annum. 

PETROLEUM.— Eiditeen oil fields are known in Wvo- 
mitig, and several more will be discovered when prospected for. 
In each of these fields, oil is flowing from springs, or there are 
thick bands of oil-sand exposed. The greater number of these 
fields are situated in the central part of the state, but there are 
fields in the northeastern part, In the southwestern portion and 
in the northern central region. The oils that have been ana- 
lyzed vary In nature from high grade lubricating to oils that 
will produce from 40 to 50 per cent of kerosene. None of the 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 67 

developed fields are less that fifty miles from the railroad, and 
in consequence, the oil industry is not of much importance. 
Salt Creek district is the only one that is making regular ship- 
ments, and this has to be hauled by wagon fifty miles to Casper, 
where it is refined. Other districts are producers, but there is 
no market. On the Popo Agie river, near Lander, are three 
Avells that will produce six hundred barrels of oil per day. 
These wells have lain idle for years, because of the lack of rail- 
roads for transportation. From what is known at the present 
time, Wyoming will, when the oil fields have been developed, 
produce as much oil as any of the eastern states. All of the 
fields now known have been discovered by people passing 
through the country on other business. Prospecting for oil, 
as is the custom in the east, has never been heard of. With 
proper facilities for transportation, the oil industry in Wyoming 
will only be second in importance to the coal. 

NATURAL GAS. — Accompanying the oil fields, are nu- 
merous natural gas horizons that are almost unknown. The 
gas pressure in the oil well near Lander is very great, and gas 
escapes are found at or near most of the oil springs. In the 
eastern part of Fremont county there are two natural gas 
escapes that are w^onders. Some prospectors have dug., shal- 
low^ shafts and curbed them up with logs. The shafts are par- 
tially filled with water, and the gas escapes with such violence 
as to cause the water in them to boil as though in a cauldron. 
There are numerous anticlinals in the state that are not asso- 
ciated w^th the oil districts, where large flows of gas may be 
looked for. 

BITUMINOUS SHALE.— In the Green River valley 
there are great bands of rich bituminous shale that equal the 
Fl'ales of Scotland, where an army of men are employed, and 
the product'on is sold for millions of dollars per annum. The 
shales are burned in a retort and the products saved are gas, 
oil, tar and ammonium sulphate. This industry will at no 
distant day prove to be a valuable one to the state. 

ARSENIC. — Ores of arsenic are found associated with 
ores of gold and silver, and in several localities there are exten- 
sive bodies of mispickel. None of the arsenic ores are mined 
for the manufacture of arsenic compounds. 

VOLCANIC ASH. — From several localities in Wyoming, 
volcanic ash has been reported. In Albany county, near Lara- 
mie, there is a bed four feet in depth. It is almost white, and 
is so fine that the greater portion of it will pass through a one 
hundred mesh sieve. * Samples of equal purity have been exam- 



68 STATE OF WYOMING. 

ined from Carbon and Sweetwater counties. This mineral is 
used for scouring purposes. It is the base of sapoUo, and is 
also used in the geyserite soap. 

GRAPHITE. — Veins of graphite are known at Plumbago 
canyon and French creek and Hallack canyon in Albany county 
and in the Indian Grove mountains in Carbon county. The 
veins are large and are easily accessible. Analysis from the 
various localities shows the carbon contents to vary from 40 
to 60 per cent. So far as known, the ore is of the amorphous 
variety, and would make a good fire-proof paint, stove polish 
or graphite crucibles. 

ASPHALTUM.— Along the north side of the Rattksnake 
mountains, there are several deposits of asphaltum that occur 
below the oil springs. There are also places where the asphal- 
tum has penetrated loose rock and earth. The beds are not 
very extensive, but are sufficiently large to pay for opening. 
There is also another bed on the Shoshone Reservation east 
of Fort Washakie. This has been formed about an oil spring 
and contains several thousand tons. No attempt has been 
made to work the deposits. The quality is excellent, quite 
free from foreign matter, and it would make a splendid paying 
mineral. 

MANGANESE ORES.— Ores that fall under this class 
have been found in Albany, Crook and Uinta counties. The 
development is only slight, since the discoveries are too far 
from railroads to warrant shipments. The ores are good 
grade, and, judging from the samples seen, are found in good 
sized veins. Samples from different localities vary from 40 
to 55 per cent of manganese. 

EPSOM SALTS. — Epsom salt can be found in small 
quantities throughout the arid regions, but in Wyoming it is 
found in large beds. Near Rock creek there is a depression 
containing about ninet}^ acres that is covered with this salt. 
The exact depth is not known. In this immediate vicinity 
there are several other beds. The salt is as pure as the com- 
mercial product that sells in our drug stores for ten cents per 
ounce. These deposits are near the railroad, and if properly 
handled, should enable a company to control the epsom salt 
trade of America. 

BUILDING STONE.— Building stones of innumerable 
varieties are common throughout the state. The stone indus- 
try, however, has never been of much more than local impor- 
tance, and only a few quarries have been opened with a view 
to export trade. Granite, sandstone, limestone, serpentine. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 69 

quartzite, marbles and marble onyx are included in the varieties. 
The majority of these are found in inexhaustible beds and are 
unsurpassed for beauty and durability. There is no reason 
why the stone industry of Wyoming should not compare favor- 
ably with that of Colorado. 

GYPSUM. — This mineral is very common and is found in 
all varieties. Beds varying from twenty to one hundred feet 
in thickness are exposed along the mountain ranges. The 
mineral is very pure and can be utilized for purposes where 
gypsum is required. 

PLASTER OF PARIS.— The Rocky Mountain Plaster 
company are operating a plaster mill at Red Buttes, which is 
the only one in the state. There is room and material in sight 
to supply a thousand mills; in fact, Wyoming could furnish 
the world with plaster of paris for a thousand years, and then 
not consider the beds exhausted. 

NATURAL PLASTER.— In a few localities deposits of 
what has been called a natural plaster has been found. The 
mineral is found in superficial deposits, varying from two to 
six feet in depth. It is pulverent and has a light gray color. 
When a portion of the water has been driven of¥, it sets and 
forms a very hard cement. The Standard Plaster company of 
Laramie are manufacturing a plaster from beds recently opened 
near Laramie. Similar deposits have been worked in Kansas, 
and no doubt in numerous localities in Wyoming beds of this 
natural plaster will be found when prospected for. 

CLAYS. — There are a few places in the state where com- 
mon brick are manufactured, but there are no other clay indus- 
tries. The clay beds are in abundance and are found in c-v^ery 
county in the state. Common brick clay, fire clay, tile und 
terra cotta clay and potters' clay are found in thick beds in the 
sedimentary rocks, and not in superficial deposits, as are usually 
seen in the northern and eastern states. The clay has not been 
studied, and one cannot at this time predict the future of the 
•clay industries. Only a few years ago a clay was discovered at 
Rock creek that was called mineral soap. For a number of 
years this clay has been sold in car loads to eastern clay men. 
No one seems to know what they use the clay for, but the indus- 
try is on the increase each year, and it seems reasonable that it 
will ere long be of considerable importance. 

TIN. — Black oxide of tin has been known in veins and as 
stream tin in the Wyoming portion of the Black Hills, for many 
years. Tons of stream tin have been mined and sold. The 



70 STATE OF WYOMING. 

veins are slightly developed. Prior to the failure of the Dakota 
tin mining companies, the prospects on the west side of the 
hills were considered quite valuable. There are good veins 
of tin of average richness, and before many years the tin mines 
of Dakota and Wyoming will be worked. 

SALT. — Salt springs, rich enough to warrant the estab- 
lishment of a salt plant, occur in Weston, Johnson and Uinta 
counties. Salt has been manufactured in Uint^:: and Weston 
counties, but for local consumption only. 

QUARTZ. — The Lar?mie mountains abound in large 
veins of pure quartz. When ground, it is quite valuable for 
glass-makingf. 

GLASS SAND. — There are numerous places in the state 
where glass sand is found. The beds near Laramie have been 
worked and proven. 

MICA. — Muscovite mica, or the mica of commence, is very 
plentiful in Wyoming, but there are only a few localities where 
it has been found in "book" of sufilicient size to warrant mining. 
In Whalen canyon, some eight or ten miles from Hartville, 
there are numerous large veins of feldspar containing first-class 
mica. It has been worked to some extent and a^small ship- 
ment made. Sheets squaring six inches have been taken out 
near the surface. , It is first quality in every respect. 

FELDSPAR. — Orthoclase feldspar occurs in large veins 
in Whalen canyon. It is free from, detrimental minerals, and 
could be utilized for all purposes where orthoclase could be 
used. 

SULPHUR. — Extensive deposits of native sulphur are 
known in Uinta county. While claims are held by prospectors, 
no attempt has been made to refine the crude brimstone, which 
assays from 40 to 70 per cent of sulphur. 

BISMUTH. — Bismuth ore of rare purity has been mined 
at Jelm mountain, and shipped to the east for reduction. The 
ore is a mixture of carbonates and metallic bismuth, and assays 
from 50 to 65 per cent of metal. The mine has not been 
worked in recent years. 

SULPHATE OF ALUMINUM.— This mineral, which is 
usually called native alum, occurs in extensive deposits it 
Sweetwater and Big Horn counties. It is the principal salt 
used in manufacturing commercial alums, and for this purpose 
it should be utilized in connection with the natural soda. 

IRON. — Second to no state in the Union are the deposits 
of iron ore. Prospecting along this line has not been carried 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 71 

on to any extent, and only iron districts reasonably near the 
railroads have received any atention. The greatest deposits 
are red hematites, quite free from sulphur and phosphorous, 
and quite low in silica. The only districts where development 
or mining have been carried on are Hartville, Rawlins and 
Seminoe. In these camps are large deposits of soft ore, which 
makes an excellent pigment. The hard ores are found beneath 
the surface in bodies varying from ten to one hundred feet in 
thickness. Rawlins and Hartville have furnished thousands 
of tons of ore to be used by the Salt Lake and Denvers smelters 
as a flux for lead and copper smelting. Beside the hematites, 
there are great deposits of maquetites in the Laramie moun- 
tains, and beds of clay iron stone in the cretaceous rocks. 
Hematite ore has been found in Crook, Johnson, Uinta, Fre- 
mont, Big Horn, Albany and Sheridan counties. The ores 
examined are of exceptional purity. 

FIBROUS TALC— During the season of 1897, Mr. High- 
town of Wheatland discovered a very large vein of fibrous talc 
in the range of mountains west of Wheatland. The quality is 
excellent. This mineral is used extensively in the east, and 
as soon as the proper transportation can be furnished, the Wyo- 
ming deposits will be worked. 

DECOMPOSED GRANITE.— Some three years ago the 
Union Pacific Railroad company commenced loading decom- 
posed granite from a point near Sherman and hauling it out as 
ballast. It was found to be far superior to any other stone for 
this purpose. Last year the company loaded 304,936 tons, the 
most of which was used by the company; but it was, to some 
extent, sold for road building in cities ; a use to which it is 
well adapted, and for which it will, in the near future, be exten- 
sively used. 

NATURAL PIGMENTS.— Soft iron ores have been util- 
ized for red paint for years. For many years paint mills were 
operated at Rawlins. In recent years the ore has been shipped 
to other states to be ground. The soft hematite ores are in 
large bodies and make a first-class paint. Ochres of various 
shades are known, but the beds have not been worked. Graph- 
ite that would make an excellent fire-proof paint is found in 
large bodies, but so far it has not been utilized. 

SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES.— The semi-precious stones 
are in abundance. Quartz crystals, agates, jaspers, moss 
agates, petrified wood, garnets and beryls are the important 
ones. The moss agates are the best found in the world. Thus 
far no precious stones have .been reported. 



72 STATE OF WYOMING. 

NATURAL SODA. — Extensive deposits of natural soda 
are known in Carbon, Natrona and Albany counties. Numer- 
ous springs contain considerable soda, and at Green River a 
well yields a saturated solution of sodium carbonate. The 
deposits vary in size from a few to one hundred acres, and the 
soda ranges in thickness from a few inches to sixteen feet, and 
posisbly more. These deposits are chiefly sodium sulphate^ 
but there are carbonates and possibly some bi-carbonates in 
some localities; along the Sweetwater river there are deposits 
that contain 60 per cent of carbonate, while on the Laramie 
plains there is no carbonate found. Attempts have been made 
to work these great deposits of soda, but so far they have-not 
been successful. The sulphate, when dried and calcined, has 
been sold in the east for glass making, and also used at the 
Laramie glass factory. With proper machinery, these great 
beds of soda can be utilized and would bring in a large revenue 
each year. 

ASBESTOS. — There are two minerals called asbestos, one 
a serpentine and a second an amphibole. The latter is the 
true asbestos, but the former is sold under the same name and 
used in the same way. The asbestos that is found in Wyoming, 
with the exception of small mineralological specimens, belongs 
to the s rpetit'ne variety, and is known as chrysotite. Valuable 
deposits of this mineral have been found in Natrona, Albany 
and Carbon counties. Natrona county has marketed some of 
the mineral. The long distance from the railroad will forbid 
work upon the majority of these discoveries for some years 
to come. 

WARM SPRINGS.— Warm springs, highly charged with 
minerals, are numerous, so numerous that space cannot be 
given to enumerate them. Some of them are marvels, and will 
in years to come be known the world over. Saratoga and Big 
Horn Springs have already been proven. The Big Horn 
Springs, although over two hundred miles from the railroad, 
have a large number of visitors each year. It is not an unusual 
sight to see people two hundred miles from these springs, in a 
covered wagon, with a helpless invalid, headed for the Big^ 
Horn canvon. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 73 

MINERAL OUTPUT FOR THE YEAR 1897, VALUED 
AT PLACE OF PRODUCTION. 

Production — Tons. Value. 

•Coal 2,744,960 $3,431,200.00 

Coke 23,800 47,600.00 

Decomposed Granite 304,936 - 152,467.50 

Iron Ore 10,720 64,320.00 

Plaster 3 joo 36,600.00 

Petroleum 6,000 54,000.00 

Clay 150 910.00 

•Gold 37,000.00 

. ^ 

Total $3,824,097.50 



A CATALOGUE OF WYOMING MINERALS. 



WILBUR C. KNIGHT, 

State Geologist. 

In 1893 I published a list of the minerals found in Wyo- 
ming. Since that time, numerous others have been discov- 
■ered. The following list is complete up to date. The numbers 
used are the same as in Dana's Mineralogy. The omitted 
numbers signify that the corresponding minerals are not known 
in Wyoming. 

GRAPHITE. — No. 2 Amorphous varieties have been reported 
from Laramie, Albany, Carbon, Converse and Fremont counties. 
Foliated graphite has been found at Hallack canyon. This mineral 
is used for lead pencils, stove polish, crucibles and paint. 

SULPHUR. — No. 3. Native sulphur occurs in large deposits in. 
Big Horn and Uinta counties. 

BISMUTH.— No. 11. Bright particles of metallic bismuth found 
at Jelm mountain, Albany county, associated with a carbonate of 
"bismuth. 

GOLD. — No. 15. In placers and quartz veins in all of the moun- 
tain ranges in the state. Beautiful crystals are found in Douglas creek 
iiplacer mine. 



74 STATE OF WYOMING. 

COPPER.— No. 15. At Tie Siding, Albany, nuggets of copper have 
been found that would weigh from ten ounces to two hundred pounds. 
It has also been found as small flakes in numerous other localities. 

MERCURY.— No. 16. Found in the King David mine. Silver 
Crown, on the one hundred and fifteen feet level. 

PLATINUM. — No. 22. Associated with placer gold, in mines on 
Douglas creek, Albany county. 

IRON. — No. 25. Meteoric, found in Laramie county, 1887. 

REALGAR. — No. 26. Associated with arsenical gold ores in Fre- 
mont county ,and found in the vicinity of Cokeville, Uinta county. 

ORPIMENT. — No, 27. Associated with realgar in Fremont and 
Uintp. counties. 

MOLYBDENITE.— No. 34. Larmie, Albany, Johnson, Fremont 
and Big Horn count .es. This mineral is usually found in thin scales 
and ressmbles graphite. It is also often mistaken for lead ore. It 
has no commercial importance. 

ARGENTITE (Silver Glance).— No. 42. Running water mine, 
Converse county and the Wood river mines. Big Horn county. 

GALENA. — No. 45. A common ore in the mountains, usually 
carry'ng silver. 

CHALCOCITE. — No. 54. A common ore, and usually found very 
pure. Samples often assay 70 per cent of copper. 

SPHALERITE.— No. 58. Only found in the Ferris mountains. 
"^ NULLERITE. — No. 70. Reported as occurring with the copper 
ores from the Ferris mountains. This has not been confirmed. 

PYRRHOTITE. — No. 74. Large veins are known in the vicinity 
of Liramie Peak. 

CHALCOPYRITE. — No. 83. A common copper ore in Wj^oming. 

PYRITE. — No. 85. Very common. Found in veins and asso- 
ciated with sedimentary rocks. 

MARCASITE.— No. 96. Found in veins in the Medicine Bow 
mountains, not far from La Platte mines. 

ARSENOPYRITE.— No. 98. Whalen canyon and Silver Crown, 
Laramie county; Medicine Bow mountains, Carbon county, and 
Atlantic, Fremont county. 

KREUNERITE.— No. 105. Based upon the determination of a 
single specimen found in a quartz vein on Douglas creek, Albany 
county. 

ICTRAHEDRITE (Gray Copper).— No. 148. From the Sierra 
Madre mountains in Carbon county and Whalen canyon, Laramie 
county. 

HALITE (Common Salt).— No. 166. Uinta, Weston, Johnson and 
Bii; Horn counties. 

CERARGYRITE (Horn Silver).— No. 169. Black Buttes mines,, 
Crook county. 

FLUORITE.— No. 175. Near Tie Siding, Albany county.. 
QUARTZ.— No. 210. 1— Quartz crystals, common. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 75 

3 — Amethyst, Boulder ridge, Albany county; Red Desert, 
Sweetwater county, and Amethyst mountain, Big Horn 
county. 

4 — Rice quartz. Crook county. 

6 — Smoky quartz, Plumbago canyon, Albany county. 

7 — Milky quartz, common. 

Cryptocrystalline Varieties. — 1 — Chalcedony, very common 
and in great variety.' Beautiful specimens of mammil- 
lary and stalactite chalcedony are found in the northern 
part of Albany county. Chalcedony geod'es occur in 
Whalen canyon, Laramie county. 

2 — Carnelian, Sage Hen creek, Natrona county. i 

3 — Chrysoprase, Fremont county, and in the vicinity of Agate 
lake, Natrona county. 

4 — Prase. 

6— Agates: 

a. Banded, Fremont, Natrona and Albany counties. 

b. Clouded agates, common. 

c. Moss agate, beautiful specimens at Hartville, Laramie 
county; Split Rock, Natrona county, and Chugwater 
creek, Laramie county. 

Agatized wood, common. 
9 — Agate jasper, Carbon and Albany counties. 
11 — Flint, very common. 
12 — Hornstone, Fremont county. 

14 — Jasper, abundant once in great variety, besides the above. 
Quartzite very abundant. 
TRIDYMITE. — No. 211. Sweetwater county, associated with late 
eruptives. 

OPAL. — No. 212. Fremont, Uinta, Natrona and Albany counties. 
Precious opals not known. Opalized wood in many localities. 

CUPRITE. — No. 224. Silver Crov/n, Laramie county, and Rock 
Creek, Carbon county. 

LEUORITE.— No. 230. Michigan and Sunrise mines, Laramie 
county. 

CORUNDUM.— No. 231. Wind River mountains. 
HEMATITE.— No. 232. 1— Specular, Laramie Peak and Tie Sid- 
ing, Albany county. 
2 — Compact column, Hartville, Laramie county. 
3 — Red Ocherous, Hartville, Rawlins and Seminoe. 
4— Clay limestone, common in the cretaceous rocks. 
ILMENITE — No. 233. Iron mountain, Albany county. 
MAGNETITE. — No. 237. Laramie mountains, Laramie and' 
Albany counties. 

CHROMITE.— No. 241. Dutton creek. Carbon county. 
MINIUM —No. 244. Lenox m'ne. Silver Crown. 
CASSITERITE (Black Tin).— No. 248. Black Hills, Crook county. 
PYROLUSITE.— No. 254. Albany and Crook counties. 



76 STATE OF WYOMING. 

TINGITE.— No. 255. Crook county. 
MANGANITE.— No. 258. Albany county. 

LIMONITE.— No. 259. Miners' Delight, Fremont county; Medi- 
•cine Bow mountains; good crystals limonite after pyrites. 

PSILOMELANE.— No. 269. Warren's Peak, Crook county. 
CALCITE. — No. 270. Varieties based chiefly upon crystallization 
■and accidental impurities. 

1 — Dogtooth spar, beautiful, crystals at Cold Springs, Laramie 

county; Nailhead spar. Table mountain cavern. 
2 — Satin spar. Rock creek, near the old stage crossing. 
3 — Granular limestone, common in carboniferous rocks. 
Hard compact limestone very common. 
Lithographic stone, Vermillion creek, Sweetwater county. 
Hydraulic limestone, quite common. 
Marbles in variety — general. 
Onyx marble, Hartville and Cokeville. 

a. Stalactites, Table mountain cavern. 

b. Stalagmite, Table mountain cavern. 

c. Travertine, Table mountain cavern. 
Dolormitic calcite, near Laramie. 

DOLORMITE.— No. 271. Twelve miles west of Uva, Laramie 
•^county. 

SIDERITE.— No. 273. Fremont, Big Horn, Albany and Carbon 
CQ-nties — extent of deposits not known. 

ARAGONITE.— No. 277. Perfect crystals near the Big Horn Hot 
Springs. Pseudomorplis after hanksite, Albany county. 

CERUSSITB.— No. 281. Lenox mine. Silver Crown, Laramie 
county. 

BISMUTOSPHARITE.— No. 283. McMullen mine, Jelm mountain, 
Albany county. 

MALACHITE. — No. 288. Very common — good crystallized speci- 
smens at the Sunrise mine, Hartville. 

AZURRITE.— No. 289. Very common. 

NATRON. — No. 296. Sweetwater soda mines, Natrona county. 

TRONA. — No. 299. From the same deposits as natron. 

ORTHOCLASE.— No. 313. Very common. Valuable veins near 
"Whalen canyon, Laramie county. 

MICROCLINE.— No. 314. Hallack canyon. Albany county. 

ANORTHOCLASE.— No. 315. Obsidian cliff, Yellowstone Park. 

OLIGOCLASE. — No. 316. Laramie, Albany, Carbon and Fremont 
'Counties. 

LABRADORITE. — No. 319. Common in the Laramie mountains. 

LEUCITE. — No. 321. Leucite hills, Sweewater county. 

PYROXENE. — No. 325. Very common in the archean rocks. 
Variety Angite associated with the eruptive rocks. 

PECTOLITB. — No. 330. Ferris mountains. Carbon county. 

ANTHOPHYLLITB.— No. 337. Near Owen P. O., Albany county. 

AMPHIBOLE.— No. 338. Common. Actinolite found in the Lar- 
amie mountains; hornblend very common. 



MINERAL RESOURCES. 77- 

CROCIDOLITE.— No. 341. Bradley's Peak, Carbon county, asso- 
ciated with epidiorite. 

BERYL. — No. 344. Large crystals are numerous east of Whaleib 
canyon, Laramie county. 

NOSELITE.— No 364. Leucite hills, Sweetwater county. 
GARNET, — No. 370. Common in great variety; 
Grassularite, Laramie mountains. 
Pyrope, Laramie and Medicine Bow mountains; 
Massive garnet, Boulder ridge, Albany county. 
CHRYSOLITE.— No. 376. Fremont Peak, Fremont county. 
FAYALITB.— No. 377. Obsidian cliff, Yellowstone Park. 
ZIRCON.— No. 394. South, Pass, Fremont county. 
CYANITE.— No. 400. Medicine Peak, Carbon county. 
GADOLINITE. — No. 404. Near Iron mountain, Albany county. 
EPIDOTE. — No. 407. Very common in archean rocks — good crys- 
tals near Laramie Peak. 

TOURMALINE. — No. 426. Laramie mountains and near Hart- 
ville, Laramie county. 

STAUROLITE.— No. 428. Phalen canyon, Laramie county. 
MORDENITE,— No. 437. Hocdoo mountains, Big Horn county. 
MUSCOVITE.— No. 458. Common; large crystals of excellent 
quality at Whalen canyon. 

BIOTETE. — No. 462. Very common in archean rocks. 
PHLOGOPITB.— No. 462 A. Leucite hills, Sweetwater county. 
LEPIDOMELANE.— No. 462 B. Laramie mountains. 
SERPENTINE.— No. 481. Natrona, Carbon and Albany counties. 

Asbestus-Chrysotite, same localities. 
'TALC. — No. 484. Very common. A good quality of fibrous talc- 
was recently found west of Wheatland. 

SAPONITE.— No. 488. Reported from Crook county— not con^ 
firmed. 

KAOLINITE. — No. 492. Impure varieties are common. Under this- 
head there are numerous varieties of clays. 

Beutonlte, a new variety found at Rock Creek and Newcastle.. 
CHRYSOCOLLA.— No. 504. Laramie mountains and Hartville. 
COLUMBITE.— No. 525. Nigger hill ,Crook county. 
APATITE. — No. 549. Sweetwater county and near Welcome,. 
Crook county. 

OLIVENITE. — No. 561. Essex mountain, Sweetwater county. 
WAVELLITE.— No. 636. Separation, Carbon county. 
SODA NITRE.— No. 683. Leucite hills, Sweetwater county. 
NITRE.- No. 684. Leucite hills, Sweetwater county. 
BORAX. — No. 707. Reported from Fremont county, but not con- 
firmed. 

THENARDITE.— No. 716. Found in depression, in the arid* 
region. 

BARITE.— No. 719. Red Desert, Sweetwater of nty; Como bluff,. 
Carbon county. 



78 STATE OF WYOMING. 

i 

ivIlRABILITE. — No. 743. Natural sulphate of soda so common, in 
Wyoming. 

GYPSUM. — No. 746. Very common in thick beds, and pure. 
Varieties: 

1 — Selenite, crystallized. 
2 — Fibrous, satin spar. 
3 — Massive, alabaster. 

EFSOMITE. — No. 748. Common; in large deposits in. Albany- 
county; also abundant in Sweetwater county. 

MELANTERTH.— No. 751. Whalen canyon and Big Horn county. 

CHALCANTHITB.— No. 755. Silver Crown, Laramie county. 

ALUNOGEN. — No. 775. This mineral is usually called alum. It 
is found in large deposits in Big Horn and Sweetwater counties. 

WULFENITE.— No. 818. Lenox mine. Silver Crown, Laramie 
county. 

OZOCERITE— Reported from Fremont county. 

SUCCINITE (amber). — Found in the coal at various places. 

PETROLEUM. — Very common, in great variety. 

ASPHALTUM. — Natrona and Fremont counties. 

NATURAL GAS. — Fremont and Natrona counties. 

COAL.— BITUMINOUS, Weston, Sweetwater, Carbon, Uinta and 
Johnson counties. 

SEMI-ANTHRACITE.— Buffalo, Wyoming. 

LIGNITE, general. 

Total number of species, one hundred and eight. ^ 



COAL AND COKE. 



OUTPUT OF COAL IN WYOMING. 

Year. Tons. Year. Tons. 

i868 6,925 1883 . 779,689 

1869 58,186 1884 902,620 

1870 105,295 1885 807,328 

1871 147.328 1886 829,355 

1872 221,745 1887 1,170,318 

1873 259,700 1888 1,481,540 

1874 219,061 1889. 1,388,276 

1875 300,808 1890 1,870,366 

1876 ,. 334^550 1891 2,097,642 

1877. 342,853 1892 2,408,165 



COAL AND COKE. 79 

Year. Tons. Year. Tons. 

1878 233,200 1893 2,243,401 

1879 400,991 1894 2,202,635 

1880 527,811 1895 2,016,601 

1881 628,181 1896 2,163,187 

1882 707764 1897 2,563,133 

Total output 29,618,654 

These figures do not include the output of small mines 
operated by ranchmen at points remote from railroads. 



OUTPUT OF COKE IN WYOMING. 

Year. Tons. 

1891 1413 

1892 1,025 

1893 2,916 

1894 ' 4,352 

1895 ...• 4,363 

1856 15,488 

1897 22,811 

Total output 52,368 

All coke so far manufactured in this state has been made 
at Cambria, and the great increase in the amount produced in 
the past two years indicates the growth of an industry that will 
ever.tually employ thousands of men. 

The figures given above have been compiled from Mineral 
Resources of the United States (1891) and from reports of the 
State Mine Inspector of Wyoming, and represent the best elata 
obtainable upon the subject. 

Wyoming stands thirteenth in the list of coal producing 
states, and \vhile the amount produced in other states has re- 
mained stationary in the past two years, the amount produced 
in Wyoming has increased 20 per cent. 

Wyoming stands eleventh in the list of coke producing 
states; the production has increased 50 per cent in the past 
year, and 300 per cent in the past two years. 



8o BANKING FACILITIES. 

< 

Banking Facilities and Interest Rates. 



50,000 00 
50,000 00 



In all the larger towns of the state are located national 
banks, while in the smaller towns are found banks incorporated 
under the state law or operating as private banks. The legaL 
rate of interest is 8 per cent, but any rate agreed upon, not 
exceeding 12 per cent per annum, is valid. The bank rate on. 
time deposits is 4 per cent. 

The following is a list of the banks now doing business in, 
the state: 

Name. Location. Capital. 

NATIONAL BANKS. 

Stock Growers' National Bank Cheyenne $ loo.ooo OO' 

First National Cauk of Cheyenne Cheyenne 100,000 00 

Fir>t National Bank of Laramie Laramie , 100,000 00 

Albany County National Bank Laramie 100,000 00 

First National Bank of Buffalo Buffalo 100,000 00 

First National Bank of Rawlins Rawlins ........ 75,000 OO' 

First National Bank of Douglas. Douglas 75,000 00 

First National Bank of Rock Springs. .... Rock Springs 60,000 00 

Rock Springs National Bank Rock Springs . 50,000 00 

First National liank of Lander Lander. 

First National Bank of Sheridan Sheridan . . 

STATE BANKS. 

Carbon State Bank , Carbon 12,000 00 

Morris State Bank Green River. 10,000 00 

Bank of Newcastle , Newcastle 10,000 00 

Sheridan Banking Company Sheridan . . , 10,000 00 

Bank of Commerce ; . Sheridan 10,000 00 

PRIVATE BANKS. 

Beckwith & Company Evanston 78,000 OO' 

North & Stone Evanston 35-000 co 

Noble, Lane & Noble, Lander 23,000 00 

J. W. Roger.'- Sundance. 15,000 00 

E. Amoretti & Company Thermopolis 10,000 00 

W. A. Denecke & Company. Casper 5. 016 66 

Richards, Cunningham & Compaily Casper 5,ooo oa 

Frank Brothers Sundance 5,000 00 

Stewart Brothers Wheatland 5.000 00 

Richards & Callandar. . Lusk 2,500 00 

Clock & Johnston . . Grand Encampment 

In addition to the banks above named, whose transactions 
are mainly for commercial purposes, there have been estab- 
lished in all of the larger towns building and loan associations, 
and in all of the towns of the state real estate loans are made 
both by local building and loan associations and by foreign 
associations of the same character, and also negotiated through 
the medium of real estate brokers. 

Interest rates on improved real estate, whether town of 
ranch lands, range from 6 to lo per cent. 



HORTICULTURE. 8i 



HORTICULTURE. 



BY BURT. C. BUFFUM, M. S., 

Professor of Agriculture and Horticulture, University of 

Wyoming. 



Horticulture includes vegetable growing, fruit raising and 
ornamental planting. Near our larger towns and cities some 
market gardening is done, and some fruits are produced, but, 
as a rule, not enough attention has been given these industries 
to furnish the home market, and large amounts are shipped in 
to supply the demand. This is due to the fact that we are now 
in the transition period between the great stock grazing indus- 
try and a new regime of diversified agriculture. This newness 
offers advantages to the prospective settler not found elsewhere. 

VEGETABLES. — As a general indication of what may be 
done in raising vegetables in our state, I would point out the 
fact that, at altitudes of five thousand feet and less, sweet pota- 
toes- and peanuts have been successfully produced. A good 
quality of leaf tobacco has been raised at Wheatland. Up to 
altitudes five thousand five hundred feet, such tender crops as 
tomatoes, melons, pumpkins and squashes grow to perfection, 
while in all portions of the state are raised enormous crops of 
onions, potatoes, beets, turnips, cabbage, cauliflower, salsify, 
rhubarb, celery, and like hardy vegetables. In 1894 the Exper- 
iment Station at Laramie recorded an average yield of over 
fifteen tons of onions from sets, giving a net profit of $90.41. 
per acre. The better varieties of seed onions gave maximum 
yields in different portions of the state of from twenty to over 
forty-six tons per acre. Maximum yields of turnips were 
upwards of forty tons; carrots, ten and a half tons, and pota- 
toes, five hundred and twenty-two bushels per acre. 

In productiveness, size and quality, our garden vegetables 
can successfully compete with like kinds raised anywhere. 

FRUIT GROWING.— The friction of starting Is greater 
than the friction of movement. While we have no very exten- 
sive fruit farms as yet, enough has been done to Indicate what 
is possible and to demonstrate that there Is no Irrigated agri- 

-6 



32 STATE OF WYOMING. 

lOiltural land in the state which will not produce profitable crops 
of some kinds of fruits. The planting of fruits, which was 
t>e^un on a small scale but a few years ago, is rapidly growing 
in favor. I know of no branch of agriculture which is advanc- 
ing- with more rapid strides than that of fruit growing. At the 
present rate of increase, our production of fruits for home con- 
sumption will soon be of great importance to the state. It must 
be remembered that Wyoming still belongs to the newer part 
&( the west, and much of our industry is such as is still making 
nse of materials already on hand, rather than forcing the soil 
to produce artificially. The establishment of irrigated farms 
and the greater production of diversified agriculture m.arks the 
«iawn of a true and lasting prosperity. Our first farming was 
naturally such as furnished an increased amount of food for 
live stock and the more staple farm crops. Fresh, ripe fruits 
(distinguished from the dried and tin-can varieties), which have 
indeed been rare luxuries upon our scattered ranches, are rap- 
idly becoming necessities in progressive homes. The regime 
of the wandering hunter and trapper, the shifting pioneer popu- 
lation, and the nomadic stockman has passed, and our popu- 
lation is made up of a happy, contented, home-building people, 
rsurrotinding themselves with comforts and luxuries and pro- 
elding for the comfort of generations to come. Our agricul- 
ture and horticulture are becoming permanent and staple. The 
soil fertility is being kept up rather than merely taking from it 
-all its great natural wealth of plant food. Fruit plantings are 
lasting and will yield their returns through future years. With 
irrigation and the intelligent use of improved farm methods, 
<nir crop yields are above the ordinary, the quality of the prod- 
uce IS unexcelled, and years of failure are so rare as not to be 
taken into account at all. 

GENERAL CONDITIONS.— Our conditions of soil, cli- 
anate and exposure are exceedingly various. In a few locali- 
ties, where the annual rainfall is greater than fifteen inches, or 
vwliere the lands are underlaid with surface water, at no. great 
depth, fair crops are raised without irrigation. We have agri- 
cultural lands at altitudes of less than three thousand five hun- 
dred feet, and from this to over seven thousand feet above sea 
ilevel. There are wind-swept plains, rolling uplands, protected 
anotmtaln valleys, and bottoms along streams with correspond- 
ing lengths of growing seasons free from frost of from eighty 
^ys or less, to more than one hundred and fifty days, and the 
mean annual temperature varies from forty degrees F. to about 
^fty degrees F. On account of these widely varying condi- 



HORTICULTURE. 83 

tions, the fruits raised, the place they are to be planted^ the 
methods of treating them, must be decided largely by each 
person for himself. There is a wide range of kinds and varie- 
ties from which to choose that will succeed in this latitude, and 
the success with which certain kinds have been grow^n in the 
different parts of the state will aid in making the choice. 

WHAT HAS BEEN DONE.— The most extensive fruit 
trials of which we have authentic records are those made upon 
the several experiment farms in different portions of the state. 
In addition to these trials, however, are the important results 
obta.nr.d by our farmers and ranchmen themselves, who have 
been producing fruits for a number of years. We now have 
bearing orchards in Fremont, Sheridan and Laramie counties, 
and more scattered trees fruiting in nearly every section of the 
state. So far as we can learn, the first trees were set out from 
1882 to 1885. The first planting were made upon the experi- 
ment farms in 1892. Rusian apricots and some varieties of 
pears have produced thrifty trees and seem hardy, though they 
have not yet fruited. 

APPLES. — The hardy varieties of apples succeed in all 
parts cf the statfe. Mr. Jacob Lund has successfully fruited 
the Wealthy apple at about seven thousand four hundred feet 
altitude on the Laramie plains. Several varieties of crabs are 
also being raised above seven thousand feet. Mr. J. S. Meyer 
and Mr. Edward Young, in Fremont county, have produced 
large amounts of fruit from their orchards every season for the 
last seven or eight years. The principal varieties which have 
succeeded with them are the Wealthy, Duchess of Oldenburg, 
Yellow Transparent, Briar Sweetcrab, Transcendant Crab, 
Great Lakes Siberian Crab, Martha Crab, Soulard Crab and 
Montreal Branty Crab. The Ben Davis also fruited upon the 
Lander Experiment Farm. In Sheridan county, Mr. C. H. 
Ms."ning has a large bearing orchard^ consisting principally of 
the 'orovving varieties: Yellow Transparent, Antonovka, Tet- 
ofsky, Moscow, Enormous, Hibernal, Wealthy, McMahon, 
Switzer, Plum Cider, Red Astrachan, Wolf River and Gideon. 
He st'=tes he has had good crops every year since the trees were 
old enough to bear, with the single excption of 1892, and that 
all these varieties are hardy except the Plum Cider. 

In Laramie county the Ben Davis, Olderburg, Pippin, 
Wealthy and Northern Spy, as well as a number of varieties 
of crabs, are bearing. We have no accurate data of the yields 
obtained from apples other than that they have borne full crops 
and that years of failure are very rare. 



84 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



PLUMS. — The native wild plum is found over the larger 
porlion of the state. The best cultivated sorts tried are the 
De Soto, Weaver, Hawk-eye, Wolf and Rolilng Stone varieties^ 
all of which have borne fruit. 

CHERRIES.--The best varieties are the EngUsh Morello, 
Early Richmond and Dwarf Rocky Mountain. They evidently 
will succeed in all parts of the state, and the last named is espe- 
cially prolific. Mr. G. W. Barlow of Sheridan estimates that 
his Dwarf Rocky Mountain cherries, set eight by ten feet,, 
yielded an average of eight quarts per plant, which would be 
4.356 quarts per acre. 

SMALL FRUITS.— The strawberry is the most xosmo- 
politan of all fruits, and it seems to succeed under all our con- 
ditions if properly cared for. Some varieties succeed better 
than others under local conditions, " but a few standard sorts, 
such as Crescent, Wilson, Jucunda, Captain Jack, etc., seem' 
to adapt themselves to widely dilTerent conditions. The best ' 
variety for any locality must be determined by experiment. 
The following tables of results with strawberries at Sheridan, 
in 1896, and at Lander in 1897, give information in regard to- 
yields, season, earliness, character of plants and berries, etc.,- 
of the varieties which have been tried in those places: 





STRAWBERRIES, SHERIDAN, 


1896. 








Date in 


Date 


Character 


Date Date 


Shipping 


Yield per 


Variety 


bloom 


frosted 


of plant 


first ripe last ripe 


qualities 


acre, qu'ts 


Hart's Minnesota 


May 22 


May 20 


Large 


June 20 


July 13 


Good 


7,480 


Jessie 


„ 29 


" 20 




" 23 


" 13 


j> 


3,740 


Mitchel's Early.. 


„ 20 


" 20 


Thrifty 


" 20 






None 


Miner's Prolific . . 


" 25 


None 


Small 


" vs 


July 13 


Good 


3,740 


Qj-eg(jpnf, 


" 2(i 


K 


Large 


" 20 


" 13 




6,035 
6,455 


Old Ironclad 


" 24 


il 


" 22 


" 13 


" 


Manchester 


" 28 


„ 


" 


" 28 


" 16 


Good 


5,610 


Lady Rusk .... 


'• 19 


May 20 


11 


None 






None 


Bidwell 


" 19 


" 20 


Very tender 


" 






None- 


Cumberland . 


" 25 


None 


Large 


June 20 




Good 


7,480 


Crawford's No. 1 . 


None 


" 


Small, poor 


None 






None 


Sharp! ess 


May 26 


<' 


Large 


June 25 


Julv 13 




7,905 


Capt. Jack ...... 


" 2fi 


u 


!^hort, stocky 


" 24 


" 13 


Good 


9,350 


Bubach 


" 80 


" 


Large 


" 24 


" 12 


,, 


6,033- 


Gandy 


" 97 


" 


" 


" 23 


u 14 




9,350 


Eureka 


" 2S 


" 


Weak 


'' 21 


" 13 




7,480 


Haverland .. . 


" 2S 


" 


Large 


" 21 


,' 13 




8,415 


Monmouth 


" 2.8 


u 


" tender 


" 20 


" 6 


Good 


9,350- 


Wilson 


', 2J 


" 


' 


" 23 


" 8 




7,480 


Warfield 


" 27 


'< 


u 


" 28 


" 13 




8,415- 


Nectar 


" 27 


" 


Small 


" 26 


" 6 


Poor 


1,870^ 


Gold 


„ 27 


" 


" 


July 1 


" 10 




2,805 


Price of Perries, .. 


" 2fi 


a 


Large 


June 22 


" 13 




11,220 


Pine Apnle 


" 25 


" 


Small, tender 


" 20 


" 9 




4,165 


ParKer Earl 


" 28 


" 


Small 


» 20 


u 9 




5,610 


Crimson Cluster . 


„ 2fi 


" 


Large 


" 23 


" 12 




7,480- 


Stayman's No. 1 


" 25 


" 


Large, tender 


„ 20 


" 13 




9,350 


Shuster'sGem.... 


" 26 


May 20 


Large 


" 23 


" 9 


Good 


5,610 


Iowa Beauty 


" 27 


•' 20 


Short;i 


" 24 


" 15 


" 


6,885-' 


Viola 


" 25 


" 20 


Small 


" 26 


" 10 


Poor 


6,035 


Lovett's Early . . . 


" 24 


" 20 


Tall 


" 28 


" 13 




7,480 


Edffar Queen 


" 94 


•' 20 


Short 


" 28 


" 16 




10,285 


Florence 


" 30 
" 26 


" 20 

" 20 


Small 
Very short 


" 28 
" 23 


u 14 
» 17 


Poor 
Good 


5,610 


.Tacunda Impr' v'd 


11,645 


Yale 


" 31 


" 20 


Tall, tender 


" 30 


S 9 




4,165 



Capt JacK 








: 1 


\ 


, ^mv^ %'i 


•^ ^<*^^^^& jifitM^^^Btamh. " 




■M 


..^^g ^^^»M^aiBi|B||y 


\ 


M'?-a'^' -jp^itll^rt 


1 


1 




:%*'''*> ■ '^^^^ii^C '^ ' =1 


\ 




F 




WBpyl^^-*^pMI 






^^m^ 


iP^ 




^ 


I ^^SS^ui^^^ 



gHARLBS DOWNING STRAWBEHRY, WYOiMING, 1897.— Natural Size. 



HORTICULTURE. 



85 



STRAWBEERIES, LANDER. 1897. 



Variety. 



Mitchel'sEarly. 

Crescent 

Clias Downing. 

Jessie 

Bubach 
JLovett's Early 

Steptiens 

Capt. Jack 

Jacunda 

Sharpless . 
'Crimson Cluster 

Bidwell 

Ooud 

Parker Earl . 
Edgar Queen . . 
Perry 



Date in 


Date 


Date 


Bloom 


first ripe 


last ripe 


May 8 


Junel2 


June 22 


" 8 


" 12 


July 9 


" 12 


" 15 




' 9 


" 12 


•' 14 




' 9 


" 15 


•' 16 




9 


" 8 


" 12 




' 9 


" 15 


" 15 




4 


" 15 


" 15 




' 6 


" 12 


" 15 




' 9 


" 12 


u 14 




' 19 


" 12 


" 15 




9 


" 15 


" 15 


" 6 


" 15 


" 16 


June 28 


u 12 


" 14 


July 4 


" 12 


" 14 


" 9 


" 15 


" 16 




• 1 



Weight 
largest 12 oz, 



3 
3 
3 

2>/ 

r^ 
2^ 

3 

2 



2 



Diam. ins. 


Shipping 


largest 


qualities 


Small 


Good 


2 1-16 


Fair 


^Vs 


Good 


^% 


^^ 


1 


Fair 


% 


Medium 


1 


Good 


^Vs 


Poor 


1% 


Good 


Vs 


" 


v^ 


a 


% 


Medium 


% 


Poor 


1 


Good 


Ys 


Poor 



Yield qts 
per acre 



2,784 
6,699 
2,848 
4,361 
4,154 
4,516 
2,179 
5,555 
2,976 
4,640 
4,750 
3'735 



3,568 

4,^30 

870 



Currants and gooseberries succeed in all parts of the state, 
if given half a chanbe, though gooseberries do not seem to do 
as well at high altitudes as currants. Mr. James King has 
raised some fine crops of Red Cherry and White Grape currants 
upon the Laramie plains. These varieties and the Crandall, 
which is the finest black sort, are the best of the varieties which 
have been tried for all parts of the state. At Wheatland, White 
Grape yielded at the rate of 9,075 pounds per acre, Red Cherry 
14,520 pounds and Crandall, 32,670 pounds. The following 
table gives the results with currants at Sheridan in 1895 and 
1896: . 



CURRANTS, SHERIDAN, 1895. 



Variety. 


Date of Bloom 


Date first ripe 


Yield per acre 
Gallons 


Red Cherry 


May 1 
" 12 

" 12 
" 10 

" 7 
" 5 


July 25 

"20 
" 20 
" 20 
" 28 
" 25 


2,120 


Fay's Red 

Ruby .... 


Crandall 

Lee's Prolific . ... 


3,860 
2,290 


White Grape 


3,120 



CURRANTS, SHERIDAN, 1896. 



Variety 



Red Cherry . , 
Fay's Red . . 
Ruby 
•Crandall 
Lee's Prolific 
White Grape 



Date of Bloom 



May 12 
" 12 
" 10 
6 
" 10 
u 14 



Date first ripe 



July 1 



Date of 
Pickings. 



Jn 



ly 



2 to 20 
7 to 20 
1 t2 20 
20 to 30 
15 to 20 
7 to 20 



Y'ield per 

acre, 

Gallons. 



1,900 
570 

■ 1,995 

•1,567 

644 



86 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



At Lander, Vvhite Grape currants yielded at the rate of 
11,570 quarts per acre, and Red Cherry, 7,260 quarts. 

The best varieties of gooseberries are the Downing and 
the Houghton. The Industry has also given excellent results 
at Sheridan. At Wheatland, the Downing yielded at the rate 
of 21,780 pounds per acre, and the Houghton at the rate ol^ 
16,335 pounds per acre. Downing gooseberries at Lander 
yielded 13,159 quarts per acre. 

The following tables give the results with gooseberries at 

GOOSEBERRIES, SHERIDAN, 1895 



Variety. 



Industry 

Downing 

Houghton — 
Golden Prolific. 



Date of Blooni'Date first ripej 



I Yield per acre 



May 1 

" 2 



July 20 
" 10 
" 20^ 



Gallons 



600 
1,800 
1,500 



GOOSEBERRIES, SHERIDAN, 1896. 



Variety. 


Date of Bloom 


1 T>ntp nf 1 Yield 

Date first rii ei ^7 pr ac re 
Pickmgs. Toals 


Industry 

Downing 

Houghton 

Golden Prolific . , ; 


May 10 
" 13 
" 14 
" 14 


Aifg. 1 Aug. ItbSO 
July 20 July 20 to Aug 30 
Aug. 5 Aug. 5 to 25 
" 10 


2,775 
3,800 
2,385 









BLACKBERRIES AND DEWBERRIES.— The dew- 
berries seem to succeed better than the ordinary blackberries 
at high altitudes. The canes of blaeberries and dewberries, 
as well as those of raspberries, must be covered with earth for 
winter protection. The- Early King semes to be the best 
variety of blackberries tried. It yielded at the rate of 9,525 
pounds per acre at Wheatland. This variety was the most pro- 
lific at Lander, also. The seasons of ripening of and yields 
of blackberries and dewberries at Lander, in 1895, are given in 
the table below: 



BLACKBERRIES, LANDER, 1895- 



Variety. 



Early King . . 
Wilson Jr. 
Stone' sHardy. 



In Bloom 



June 12 

" 22 
July 4 



First Ripe 



July 24 
Aug. 14 

" 25 



Last 
picked 



Sept. 25 

7 



Yield per. 
acre, qis. 



1,278 

524 

1,118 



HORTICULTURE. 



8r 



DEWBERREES, LANDER, 1895. 


V^ARIETY. 


In Bloom 


First Ripe 


Last 
picked 


Yield per 

acre, qts. 


Mammoth 


June 22 

" 22 


Aug. 3 
5 


Sept. -5 
" 5 


2,023 
1,231 







RASPBERRIES have succeeded somewhat better than 
blackberries. At Wheatland, Thompson's Early Prolific, 
which did better than any other kind, yielded at the rate of 
6,8o8 pounds per acre. At Sheridan, the raspberries gave 
large crops each year, but the varieties were somewhat mixetiL 
so comparative results are not of great value. The table belo\»7 
gives the 3aelds, etc., of the varieties grown at Lander in 18951. 



RASPBERRIES, LANDER, 1895. 



VARIETY 



In Bloom 



Red- 



Brandj-wine June 22 



Marlboro 

Early Prolific 

Hansel 

Turner 

Black— 

Ada 

Cregg 

Progress 

Kansas 

Lovett 

Yello^v — 

Golden Queen 

Caroline 



First ripe 



July 20 



Last pic 


ked. 


Aug 


21 




17 


" 


17 


" 


21 


" 


17 


u 


21 


" 


21 


" 


21 


iX 


17 


u 


7 


Sept 


7 



Yield p^- 
acre, quarbs 



1,605 
1.74© 

3,288 
'2,25^J 
3,i6Gj 

1,815 

87(r 
2,674 
2,423" 
1,705. 



3,-31 



GRAPES will probably not succeed much above 5(,5<30 
feet altitude, unless they can be given more than ordinary pro- 
tection. Some varieties have been fruited at Sheridan, and tlic 
early varieties planted at Lander have made excellent growiJi 
and are now producing fine crops. The Wyoming Red antl 
Concord have been the heaviest yielders, and have shown tfial 
they will ripen before early frosts. Grapes merit more extendc^l 
trial, especially in sheltered localities. 

RALSING FRUITS FOR MARKET.— I.Indoubtdly for 
some time to come the home demand will be greater than tfee 
supply. This gives the Wyoming fruit grower a decKie«l 
advantage over growers in old, well established fruit belts. He 
will not need to place his fruits in competition with those iJB 
the general market, and the expense of shipping precltt<ies; 
serious competition from growers in other states in any kinds 
of fruits which he can successfully raise at home. He can 



88 STATE OF WYOMING. 

supply his own home much cheaper than he can buy inferior 
proaucts from elsewhere, and all his surplus will find ready' sale 
in home markets. This can all be sold in the fresh state, so 
he need look alter no secondary products as dried, or canned 
goods, cider, etc. At present ail these fresh fruits demand the 
best of prices, in fact such prices a,s insure large profits where 
they are properly handled and marketed. At present nearly 
all our fresh fruits come from other states, and I know of one 
town which consumes large quantities of strawberries not only 
shipped in from another state, but carried over one hundred 
and forty miles of dusty road by stage. This happens in the 
face of the fact which has been demonstrated, that they can be 
raised easily and cheaply at home. With the growth of "our 
cities, and the development of our great mineral resources, the 
demand will steadily increase. 

COST AND PROFIT WITH FRUIT.— We are still 
sufifkiently utilitarian to look upon the cash side of every prop- 
osition, and it is necessary to show the prospective fruit grower 
what may be expected in expenditures and returns. It is not 
possible to state the money value of the higher living and in- 
creased health which come along with greater fresh fruit con- 
sumption in the home, and the greater- independence of pro- 
ducing it ourselves, but we have estimated the money value at 
the local market prices and the expense under local conditions 
of producing and marketing strawberries, raspberries and dwarf 
cherries as follows: We give average yields, the lowest market 
price, and the greatest probable expense of raising the crop in 
each case. 

Average yield per acre of thirty-one varieties at Sheridan, 
1896, 6,920 quarts. 

Value at ten cents per quart, local market $692. o^ 

Total cost of plants, setting out new beds each year, 
cultivation, jrrigation, picking, boxing, crating and 
marketing, per acre 301 .60 

Net profit per acre $390.40 

RASPBERRIES. 
Average yield from all varieties grown at Sheridan for two 
years, 953 quarts. 
Value per acre at local market price at twenty-five cents 

per quart ......... $238 . 25 

Total cost of raising, picking and marketing, per acre. . 65.65 

Net profit per acre $172.60 




DWA,R'P ROOKY MO'UNT'AIN CIHERIRIEIS, WYOMING. 



HORTICULTURE. 89 

DWARF CHERRIES. 

Mr. Barlow of Sheridan estimates an average yield of the 
Dwarf Rocky Mountain cherry of eight quarts per plant, when 
set eight by ten feet apart. This would give a yield per acre 
of 4,356 quarts. 
Five cents per quart would be a very low price for the 

fruit, giving a value of the crop, per acre, of $217.83 

Although picking, boxing and crating would cost less, 
we give the cost of raising and marketing the crop 
the same as for raspberries 65 .65 

Net profit per acre $152.15 



FRUIT GROWING WITH VS. WITHOUT IRRIGA- 
TION. — While much has been said of the advantages of farm- 
ing under irrigation over those in pluvial districts, these advan- 
tages are not appreciated as they should be. We only hear 
•of the disadvantages of raising crops by irrigation from those 
who are unacquainted with it in actual practice. Many who 
barely exist upon irrigated farms cannot understand how the 
additional expense of applying water is to be met, and it could 
not be if an increased crop production did not more than pay 
all the added expense. Those who have farmed under good 
irrigation systems would be loth to return to rainfall conditions 
and take the years of failure, or the lower yields, with good 
grace. Professor Hilgard has pointed out that the greatest 
of ancient civilizations in India, Egypt and America have been 
in arid climates under irrigation. The greater advantages are, 
first, there is no timber to be removed in order to clear and 
prepare the land; second, the soils of arid regions have re- 
tained all their mineral plant foods, and are proportionately 
vastly richer than soils which have been washed out by great 
amounts of rainfall; and, third, crops may be supplied with 
water just when they need it, instead of depending upon uncer- 
tain showers. These and other advantages of the artificial 
application of water to crops cannot be too strongly urged. 
The value of irrigation in fruit raising is more apparent, even, 
than for other crops. 

Late frosts, which would be destructive to fruit buds and 
flowers, may be quite effectually prevented by keeping the 
■ground well soaked, and water in the furrovN'S on nights when 
i;here is danger of frost. 



90 STATE OF WYOMING. 

< 

The irrigated orchard bears its full crop of fruit every year, 
instead of resting every other season, or two seasons out of 
three. The quality of the crop is improved by the application 
of water just when it is needed, and in our dry climate there is 
little danger of too much water being forced on the plants 
during the fruiting season. Naturally the quality is improved,, 
as well by the large amount of sunshine which gives it the 
highest colors and materially aids in the ripening and sweet- 
ening process. We believe, also, that our dry air and largt 
amount of sunshine tend to prevent many fungus diseases. 
For example, mildew has been unknown with us .up to the 
present time. 

In good irrigation practice, the soil fertility is never less- 
ened by leaching*. In fact, fertility is conserved to the greatest 
possible extent, and some irrigation waters actually add plant 
foods to the soil. It has been demonstrated that water carry- 
ing quantities of sediment adds to the total amount of plant 
food in the soil regardless of the crops removed each year. In 
such places artificial fertilizers will never be needed, while the 
production may be as constant as in the famous vallev of the 
Nile. 

After all, the greatest factor in successful crop production 
is the correct amount of water in the soil. Too little or too 
much water interferes with the growth of the plant, directly 
and indirectly. Directly by its physiological efifect upon the 
health of the plant, and indirectly by modifying the soil tilth 
and fertility. A great evil in this state is irrigating too much, 
which is detrimental to the soil and injurious, to a marked 
extent, with many kinds of fruit. Too much water may injure 
the trees and plants, and keeping them too wet during fruiting 
lowers the quality of the fruit. Such faults are only due to 
lack of knowledge or carelessness in the irrigation. The time 
of irrigation ,when the soil and plants are in need of water, and 
the amount to be applied, along with the best methods of apply- 
ing it, are matters, the correct solution of which, require careful 
and intelligent thought and study of every fruit grower. They 
must be determined largely by each individual, for the condi- 
tions of soil and climate in his localitv. 



^^^.%. 




\\Mp Qmmy Qvmm, wyomiw, mi 



LABOR AND WAGES. 



pr 



Wages and Cost of Living 



The conditions regulating the demand and supply of labor 
in Wyoming are about normal. There is a more than usual 
demand for skilled mechanics and house servants. 

The question of the cost of living and maintaining a family 
in Wyoming, as compared with other states in the west, is one 
worthy of consideration. While wages have been but slightly 
decreased, the cost of living has been greatly reduced. Wages 
are from 30 to 50 per cent higher than in any of the eastern 
states, while the cost of living is but from 20 to 30 per cent 
greater along the lines of railway, and not appreciable higher 
in the interior. 

Below is given a table of approximate wages in the state 
at this time: 



OCCUPATION. 

Carpenters per day 

Machinists do 

Painters do 

Tinners do 

St one- cutlers do 

Plasterers do 

Roustabouts . . do 

Miners do 

Brick-layers do 

Shoe-makers do 

Gas-fitters do 

Day Laborers do 

Upholsterers' do 

Cabinet makers ... do 

Plumbers do 

Tailo's do 

Bakers do 

Railroad trackmen do 
Plasterers and 

masons' helpers, do 
Coal-miners. .... .per mo 

Engineers do 

Cow-boys, with 

board do 



WAGES. 


$ 2 00 to ; 


S 350 


3.06 to 


5.00 


2.50 to 


350 


3.00 to 


350 


3.00 to 


5 00 


3 00 to 


3-50 


I 50 to 


2.00 


3.00 to 


3-50 


4.00 to 


5.00 


2 50 to 


350 


3.00 to 


4 00 


1.50 to 


2-00 


2.50 to 


3-50 


2.50 to 


350 


2.5') to 


5.00 


2.50 to 


35" 


2 00 to 


3.00 


1.50 to 


1.60 


2.00 




1. 35 00 to 


75.00 


75.00 to 


125 00 



OCCUPATION. WAGES. 

Agents and op- 
erators : per mo. $50 to 1 15 

Horse wranglers, 

with board do 20 to 40 

Farm hands, with 

board do 20 to 35 

Sheep herders, with 

board do 35 to 70 

Teamsters, with 

board . do 20 to 40 

Cooks, with board. . . do 20 to 50 

House servants, men, 

with board do 20 to 35 

House servants, wo- 
men, with board., do 12 to 35 

Railroad brakemen, 

without board .... do 50 to 80 

Butchers, with board, do 50 to 75 

Lumbermen, with 

board do 35 to 40 

Conductors do 85 to 135 

Locomotive firemen, do 65 to lOO 



25.00 to 50.00 



92 STATE OF WYOMING. 

i 

COST OF LIVING.— The following are about the retail 
prices, at distributing points in Wyoming, of staple articles: 

Flour, first grade, Colorado per cwt. $ 2.25 

Flour, first grade. Nebraska do 3 75 

Flour, second grade, Nebraska, do 2.50 to $ 3.00 

Potatoes do . .75 to i .60 

Beef do 6.00 to 8.00 

Mutton do 600 to 8.00 

Veal...... do 1000 to 12.00 

Bacon per pound. .10 to .12 

l^ard, grocers' do .08 to .10 

Chickens do ,18 to .20 

Turkeys no .18 to .25 

Wheat per cwt. 1.50 to 1.75 

Corn, cracked. Nebraska do 1. 00 to 1.50 

•Oats do 1 .00 to i-?50 

Corn meal do i .50 to 2.00 

Sugar, granulated , do 6.25 to 8.00 

Salt, Liverpool do 1.50 to 3.00 

Kerosene per gal. .20 to .30 

Coal . per ton. 2.50 to 6.00 

Hay: 

In town do 8.00 to 10.00 

On ranches do 2.50 to 7.00 

Lumber: per m. 

Native rongh 16.00 to 20.00 

First quality, planed. do 40.00 

California or Oregon, best do 20.00 to 30 00 

Shingles: 

Native do 2.50 to 300 

Oregon do 2.75 to 4. 00 

Wood, native Pine per cord. 5 00 to 6.00 

Coal per ton. 6.00 to lO.oo 

Clothing, dry goods and other articles easily transported 
and bearing light freight charges are but slightly higher in price 
than in eastern and middle states. 




STATE INSTITUTIONS. 93, 



PUBLIC BUILDINGS. 



Prior to the year 1886, the territory owned no public 
buildings. The Ninth Legislative Assembly passed an act,, 
providing for the erection of a Capitol building at Cheyenne, 
a University at Laramie, a Hospital for the treatment of the 
insane at Evanston, and an institution for the education of the 
deaf and dumb at Cheyenne. In 1888 the Tenth Legislature 
provided for the erection of a State Penitentiary at Rawlins, 
and in 1893 the State Legislature authorized the erection of. 
the Wyoming General Hospital, at Rock Springs. 

THE CAPITOL. — The Capitol building at Cheyenne is 
purely classical in style, bearing a resemblance in gfeneral out- 
line to the Capitol at Washington. Its entire length and 
breadth, exclusive of the broad stone steps leading from the 
building on three sides, is 216x112 feet, while the dome, with a 
diameter of thirty feet at its base, rises to a height of 155 feet. 
The main entrance, facing the south, is ornamented by a broad 
portico, surmounted by two groups of Corinthian columns, 
above which is a cornice and gable elaborately carved and beau- 
tifully finished. The principal material used in the construc- 
tion of the building is a superior quality of gray sandstone, pro- 
cured from quarries in the vicinity of Rawlins, Carbon county. 
The building has some sixty apartments, furnishing ample 
room for all legislative, judicial and executive departments and 
the State Library. It is heated throughout by hot air furnaces 
and gas heaters, and is lighted by gas and electricity. The 
total cost of construction was $292,298.85, but the additional 
sum of $6,854.64 has been expended in improving and beauti- 
fying the grounds. 

WYOMING UNIVERSITY.— The Wyoming University 
is located at Laramie, and has been in successful operation since 
1887. It is supported by an annual levy of one-eighth of a 
mill on all the taxable property in the state and has also received 
a valuable land grant of 46,091.34 acres from the general Gov- 
ernment, the rental from which also goes toward the mainte- 
nance of the institution. It has an able and efficient faculty, 
of which Dr. Elmer E. Smiley is President. The attendance is 



94 STATE OF WYOMING. 

nearly two hundred, and rapidly increasing. The institution 
affords a liberal education free to the youth of both sexes. The 
main building is one of the handsomest structures in the state, 
constructed of a grayish colored sandstone, obtained near the 
city of' Laramie. It is four stories in height, one hundred and 
fifty-seven feet in length by seventy-one feet in width, and is 
heated by steam and lighted by electricity. Mechanical Hall 
and other buildings are of the same material. The facilities 
for obtaining an education in this institution are second to 
none, and while older and larger colleges and universities may 
have more means at their command, there is no institution of 
learning in the land where a more thorough and practicd edu- 
cational training is given the youth of the country than at this 
university. Boarding clubs, under the care of some member 
of the faculty, have been organized, where the boys and men 
attending the university are accommodated with good, whole- 
some cooking for the moderate sum of eleven dollars per month. 
Suitable liomes, with excellent families, are obtained for girl 
students, and every memiber of the faculty takes a personal 
interest in the welfare of the students wdio are committed to 
their charge. 

FISH HATCHERY.— The Wyoming Fish Hatchery is 
situated about five miles east of Laramie, and consists of suit- 
able buildings and proper apparatus for propagating and caring 
for young fish fry. The buildings are grouped around artifi- 
c'al ponds, which draw their water supply from large springs in 
the vicinity, and the institution has a capacity of 500,000 fry 
annually. Since the establishment of the hatchery, in 1884, 
there have been distributed to the several counties of the state, 
6,000,000 trout, as well as fry of other varieties of game fish. 
During the year 1897, the total distribution amounted to 
444,000 fry distributed among the several counties, as follows: 

Albany 90,000 

Carbon 41 ,000 

Converse 60.000 

Crook , . . 15,000 

Fremont . , . . . . 30,000 

Johnson 15,000 

Laramie , . 90,000 

Natrona 60,000 

Sheridan 25,000 

Sweetwater 18,000 

Total 444,000 



STATE INSTITUTIONS. 95 

There are also branch hatcheries located in Sheridan and 
Crook counties. 

WYOMING PENITENTIARY.— Wyoming has two 
penitentiaries, one situated at Laramie, and one at Rawlins. 
The penitentiary at Laramie was formerly owned by the Gov- 
ernment, but was transferred to the state upon the admission 
of Wyomine to the sisterhood of states. It is capable of 
accommodating- fiom one hundred and seventy-five to one hun- 
dred and ninety inmates. The penitentiary at Rawlins has not, 
up to this time, been occupied, owing to the fact that it is not 
quite completed. It is constructed of the fine sandstone found 
near the town of RawHns, and there has been expended in its 
erection, up to the present date, the sum of $98,352.99. 

POOR FARM. — Wyoming is in possession of a Poor 
Farm, situated at the town of Lander, which cost $5,053.39. 
Owing to the fact that the state has no poor, the farm has been 
rented, and the proceeds applied to its improvement, so far as 
necessary, and the remainder allow^ed to accumulate as a fund 
for future use. 

DEAF, DUMB AND BLIND.— An asylum for the edu- 
cation of the deaf, dumb and blind was erected some eight or 
ten years ago at the city of Cheyenne, but owing to the small 
number of pupils seeking admission to the same, they were 
provided for in other institutions, and the building turned over 
to the veterans of the late war, to be used as a soldiers' home, 
and its commodious quarters now furnish a pleasant home for 
about twenty-five men, who are dependent upon the state for 
support in their declining years. There has been expended 
upcn this building the sum of $11,879.05. 

INSANE ASYLUM.— The \A\oming State Hospital for 
the Insane was erected in the town of Evanston and opened for 
inmxatesin the year 1888. It cost the sum of $66,667.66. It is 
under the care of a competent physician, and has been one of 
the mxOSt successful institutions in the state in compassing the 
ends for which it was erected. 

HOSPITAL. — The W}'oming General Hospital was built 
in the city of Rock Springs during the years 1893-4, at a cost of 
$28,204.64, but it was destroyed by fire in the month of January, 
1897, and rebuilt during the same year. It is modern in its 
arrangement and equipment, is under the supervision of com- 
petent surgical authority, and is so located as to be of great 
value to the mining population of the state in times of emer- 
gency. 



96 STATE OF WYOMING. 



V/YOMING INDIANS 



BY JOSEPH A. BRECKONS. 



The past decade has witnessed a marvelous change f©r the 
better in the habits, condition of Hfe, education and material 
condition of the Indians, in Wyoming. 

In 1890, there were, in Wyoming, but forty-three self-sup- 
porting Indians among the eighteen hundred or more occupy- 
ing the Shoshone, or Wind River, reservation. At the present 
time, fifteen hundred of these Indians are partially and nearly 
wholly self-supporting. In 1890, the average attendance of 
Indian children in the agency schools was sixty-five; now it 
is one hundred and sixt,y-one. The census report for 1890 
recites: ''The children go to school with reluctance, and sel- 
dom miss an opportunity of absenting themselves, sometimes 
in large numbers. The old people have little interest in the 
education of their children." At the present time, the capacity 
of the agency school is taxed, and the attendance could be 
increased, if the accommodations were extended. Industrial 
shops are needed in connection with the school, as the desire 
on the part of the Indian children to learn some form of work, 
in connection with their studies is keen. A sewing room for 
the girls is maintained; ,a carpenter shop for the boys, and a 
school farm are in successful operation. The farm of six 
hundred acres is fenced. During the past year, a crop of 
eleven acres of oats and barley, seven acres of potatoes, ten 
acres of onions, cabbage, and other vegetables was raised, and 
sufficient hay was cut for the use of the school, with considera- 
ble to sell. The pupils also maintain a bright, readable paper 
called The Indian Guide. The parents, are now anxious to 
have their children attend school, and the head men of the two 
tribes encourage all of their people to have their children 
educated. 

The Shoshone, or Wind River, reservation was established 
in 1868, by a treaty made at Fort Bridger, by which the Gov- 
ernment gave to the Shoshone and Bannock Indians lands. 



WYOMING INDIANS. 97 

along the valley of the Liig Wind river, aggregating in area 
about 4,500 square miles. When the reservation was created, 
it was the great hunting ground of the Sioux, Cheyennes, 
Arapahoes and Crows, the hereditary enemies of the Shoshones. 
The three tribes first mentioned, except for short periods, had 
always been allies, so that the Shoshones were unable to con- 
tend against them; sometimes they were friends, and some- 
times enemies of the Crows, the result being that in the sum- 
mer, when these tribes were on the buffalo hunt, the Shoshones 
were compelled to find a home in Utah and Idaho, and were 
only safe on their reservation in winter. Under these condi- 
tions, it was not until 1871 that they began to fully enjoy the 
provisions of the treaty of 1868. In 1872, the Shoshones quar- 
reled with the Bannocks, and the latter tribe was aliowed to 
depart and select what is now the Fort Hall reservation, in 
Idaho. In the same year, the place of the Bannocks was 
taken by the Arapahoes. They were speedily removed and 
sent to the Pine Ridge agency, where they remained until 1878, 
when thev were again sent to the Wind River reservation and 
given the southeastern part of it, where they have since re- 
mained. The two tribes are entirely separate and rarely inter- 
marry. Up to 1878, they were at war with each other. Since 
then, they have been apparently friendly, though some jealousy 
still exists. The iast fight in which the Shoshones and Arap- 
ahoes were engaged against each other was in 1874, when tlie 
Shoshones were the allies of the whites, under Captain Bates, 
in a fight against the Arapahoes at Bates' Hole. In 1873, the 
Shoshones showed some interest in farming, but locusts ate 
their crops for three successive years, and this wholly discour- 
aged them. Hostile tribes constantly raided them and com- 
pelled them to spend most of their time guarding their herds 
of horses. In 1876, under Chief Washakie, they served as 
scouts and guides for General Crook, in his expedition against 
their old enemies, the Sioux, and did some effective fighting 
at the battle of the Rosebud. The condition of the Shoshones 
is graphically shown by the census report of 1890, which recites: 
"The Shoshones show a willingness to work when there is any 
incentive given them, but much can hardly be expected from a 
half-starved and ignorant people, no matter how willing they 
may be. They are not only in want of sufficient food, but are 
in want of almost everything they should have to induce them 
to work their farms, such as rations, material for fencing, agfri- 
cultural implements, seeding and farming assistance. The 
material condition of the Shoshones is easily summed up ; they 

—7 



98 STATE OF WYOMING. 

are as poor as they can be and live." Of the Arapahoes," the 
report says: 'They number 885 souls, and, although fully one- 
half the men wear citizen's clothes, they, are, in civilization, far 
behind most Indian tribes. They are very intelligent and 
industrious when they have an opportunity. Their children, 
at school, are more apt and industrious than the Shoshones, 
and, as a people, they are of a m_uch higher type mentally and 
physically. They complain bitterly of the treatment they 
receive from the Government. They claim they were induced 
to plant posts and were promised wire, but that they received 
but little. They complain of a lack of implements and that 
the Government farmer does not show them how to work. The 
Arapahoes have reached as high a state of civilization as their 
present surroundings and opportunities will allow. Black Coal, 
their chief, said: *T know the time has come when we will have 
to earn our living by work. I tell my people so, and they 
believe me. They are willing and anxious to do so, but they 
have neither the instruction necessary, nor the tools to work 
with. What shall we do?' " 

The change for the better, in the condition of these Indians, 
commenced about five yjears ago, when the agency was placed 
in charge cf an ofificer of the United States Army. The Indians 
were induced to take land in severalty, irrigation ditches were 
built, many of the Indians gave up their teepees and built com- 
fortable log houses. They were encouraged to raise more 
crops than sufficed for their own need by the Government's 
ol^ering to buy the surplus from them, and, in many other prac- 
tical ways, they were gradually brought into their present 
encouraging condition. During 1897, the two tribes on the 
reservation accomplished what, five years ago, pessimists, on 
the Indian question, would have declared an impossibility. 
They supplied the entire wood contract for Fort Washakie, the 
agency and school consisting of 2,075 cords; they put in the 
entire hay contract, at the fort, amounting to 800,000 pounds; 
they supplied the agency and fort with 760,000 pounds of oats 
and the school with 585,000 pounds of wheat, besides having 
plenty left for seed and extra rations for themselves; they sup- 
plied the post contract for potatoes, and had sufficient left for 
their own needs. During the year they planted more seed 
than their entire crop amounted to in 1894, and that year was 
regarded as a remarkable one for the forward steps taken. The 
Indians run a first-class flouring mill, and with it a feed mill, 
a saw mill and shingle mill. The work of allotting the lands 
in severalty has been progressing favorably, and, at the present 



WYOMING INDIANS. 99 

time, nearly all of the Indians have taken their allotments. 
During last year, the Government purchased a tract ten miles 
square, containing Ihe famous Big Horn Hot Springs from the 
Indians, paying them the sum of $60,000. The Shoshones 
took their half of the purchase money in cash; the Arapahoes 
took theirs in cattle. When all of the Indians shall have 
received their land allotments, a large area of the reservation 
will still remain unused. It is proposed to purchase this from 
the Indians, and, if this is done, they will be in fair financial 
circumstances, in addition to each family owning a fine ranch. 

The educational improvement has kept pace with the 
material advancement. New school buildmgs were erected 
in 1(193, o^ what is called "neutral ground," that is, upon school 
sections, lying between the lands of the Shoshones and Arap- 
ahoes. lioth tribes send about an equal number of children 
to the school. The buildings have a capacity of two hundred, 
but the appropriation provides for but one hundred and fifty 
pupils. During 1897, the enrollment was two hundred and 
four. There were one hundred and fourteen boys and ninety 
girls; one hundred and two Arapahoes and one hundred and 
two Shoshones. The average attendance was one hundred 
and seventy-four; three times what it was five years ago. The 
fact that work is the salvation of the Indian is recognized by 
the school officers. During 1897, the boys of the school tilled 
the farm, built a barn, a root cellar, a coal house, several miles 
of fence, printed their paper. The Indian Guide, and repaired 
2,227 articles of clothing, baked daily two hundred pounds of 
four c^.nd performed nearly all of the household duties of the 
school. 

The remarkable improvement shown by the Wyoming 
Indians is due to the efforts of the agents, who have charge of 
them, during the past five years: Captain P. H. Ray, U. S. A.; 
Captain Richard H. Wilson, U. S. A., and Captain H. G. Nick- 
erson, of Lander, who have exercised a judicious and unremit- 
ting care over their wards. They have been aided effectively 
In- the head chiefs of the two tribes, Washakie of the Shoshones, 
end Sharp Nose cf the Arapahoes. Both of these Indians are 
famous. Washakie is ninety-five years of age. He has 
always been the friend of the whites. He was the ally of 
General Crook, and received the personal thanks of General 
Grant for his services. He has, by his own example, and by 
judicious counsel, aided in the work of the agency officers, 
teachers and missojnaries, in civilizing his people. Sharp Nose 
is over sixtv vears old. He served as chief of scouts for the 



lOo STATE OF WYOMING. 

Government against the Cheyennes, 1876, and has commend- 
atory letters from President Garfield, General George Crook, 
Lieutenant W. P. Clark, U. S. A., and Geaeral O. O. Howard. 
His friendship and aid to schools and civilization received a 
severe test in 1881, when he sent his son and twelve other Arap- 
ahoe children east to school, and all except three died. He is 
friendly and progressive, and has always taken a stand against 
the non-progressive element of his tribe. Rev. Sherman 
Coolidge, a full-blood Arapahoe, whose parents were killed in 
a fight between the Arapahoes and Bannocks, in 1870 — and 
who was subsequently adopted and educated for the ministry 
by the wife of Captain C. A. Coolidge, U. S. A. — and Prof.W. P. 
Campbell, superintendent of the agency school, have also been 
unremitting and energetic workers towards educating and civil- 
izing the Indians. 



EDU6ATIONAI9 ADVANTAGES, 



BY ESTELLE REEL, 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. 

The state of Wyoming is notable for the educational advan- 
tages it gives the children of its citizens. In educational mat- 
ters it leads many of the older states, in that it employs a larger 
number of teachers in proportion to its population; that its 
school term is longer; that the salaries paid its teachers, espe- 
cially those paid women teachers, are higher, and that its school 
methods are at all times kept in unison and harmony with the 
latest and best in modern education. 

The amount of funds raised in Wyoming for school pur- 
poses by voluntary taxation is liberal, and expenditures in 
educational maters are not stinted. The latest and most 
approved text-books and school apparatus are in use, and the 
schools, even in the remote country districts, are well equipped 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. loi 

with reference and general libraries. The result of this liber- 
ality and of the careful attention given the schools of the state 
by its citizens and school officers has resulted in keeping the 
percentage of illiteracy in Wyoming to a nominal figure. A 
practical illustration of this was shown at the recent muster of 
troops in the state for service in the Spanish war. Of one 
thousand young men who enlisted in Wyoming, not one was 
unable to sign his name to the muster rolls, and every man had 
received a fair education. 

There are 11,937 pupils enrolled in the public schools of 
the state. These are in attendance in four hundred and fifty- 
two schools, an average of twenty-six pupils to each school. 
Omitting the city schools, the average attendance is ten pupils. 
Sparsely settled communiVes in Wyoming enjoy equal school 
facilities with more thickly, settled regions. It is the universal 
custom in the state to establish a school if five pupils can attend. 
The result is that practically all children of school age in the 
state have an opportunity to attend school. A compulsory 
school law is on the statute books, but it has never been found 
necessary to enforce it, as school attendance is voluntary. 

The number of teachers employed in the state is four hun- 
dred and ninety-eight, or one teacher for every twenty-four 
pupils. The salaries paid teachers in Wyoming average fifty- 
eight dollars per month for male teachers, and forty-five dollars 
for female, which, when it is considered that the country schools 
of the state form the great percentage of the entire number, 
compare most favorably with salaries paid in other states. 

The school buildings in the state are generally well built 
and comfortable. The cost of construction has been upwards 
of half a million dollars, while repairs and improvements 
amounting to ten thousand dollars are made annually. As the 
sparsely settled communities of the state grow, the primitive 
log building which at first constitutes the school building, gives 
place to the neat frame or brick structure with all the modern 
apparatus for successful educational work. During the past 
year $6,211.91 was expended in the state for school apparatus, 
and $1,556.97 for school books for the general use of pupils. 

W^yoming educators have established uniformity in text- 
books and in course of study. The State Superintendent, 
during the past year, prepared a uniform course of instruction 
for the graded and ungraded schools of the entire state. This 
has served to systematize the work of teachers and county 
superintendents, and has added materially to the effectiveness 
of the service. 



I02 STATE OF WYOMING, 

The question of free text-books is well managed in this 
state, the matter being left to the voluntary action of the dis- 
tricts, a plan which is foimd to give general satisfaction. A 
number of the districts purchase text-books and furnish them 
to pupils at actual cost prices. This plan gives universal satis- 
faction, and is the inception of ultimate free text-book distri- 
bution by the school authorities. 

Teachers, County Superintendents and other school officerfi 
show a creditable interest in county institute work, which is 
rewarded by liberal financial aid by county authorities. Each 
county in the state appropriates annually the sum of one hun- 
dred dollars to aid in securing lecturers and instructors^ for 
institute work. The expense and inconvenience of travel in 
Wyoming prevents, to a great degree, holding state educational 
meetings, although very interesting and valuable gatherings of 
the State Teachers' association are occasionally held. 

One of the most valuable aids to the support and mainte- 
nance of the public school system in Wyoming is the fund 
received annually from the rental of school lands. During the 
year ending March 31, 1898, the sum of $12,617.55 was received 
from this source and distributed to the school officers of each 
county in proportion to the number of pupils in each. The 
total acreage of school land in the state which may be utilized 
for this purpose is 3,600,000 acres. Of this amount, 301,812 
acres have been leased. The practice of leasing state and 
school lands for pasturage and grazing purposes has grown 
rapidly in Wyoming within the past three years. The state 
lands, placed at the disposal of the state for the maintenance of 
state institutions, has practicall}^ all been leased, and the 
demand for school lands will increase from the present time on. 
It may reasonably be expected that sufficient incom.e will be 
received from the rental of school lands within the near future 
to increase the efficiency of the schools of the state to the 
highest degree, and this without imposing additional burdens 
upon the tax-payer. 

Under these conditions the outlook for the educational 
future of Wyoming is exceedingly bright, and its schools may 
be confidentlv relied upon to send forth thorough, self-rehant, 
well-equipped young men and women to take their places suc- 
cessfully in the great competition which marks modern life. 



J 



c 




E 


CO 


o 


S- 


>. 


i-t 


^ 


s 




<u 




-*-> 


H-H 




O 


C/} 




bJD 


m 


c 






O 


■ u 


O 


w 


SZ 


^^ 


u 


■ o 


(/d 


>^ 




o 


u 


^ 




-'-' 






X) 


o 


^ 


l^ 






c o oj 

sis 



2 28 



8 8 8 

g g5 ^ 

00 ^ ^. 

10 cq S 






: 8 



8 8 



8 8 






§ 8 

CO cq 






000 

CO -n^ -qi 

10 f sq 



S2 S 






LO S C^_ C^7 

00 l^' -H t--" 

X> '^t' 1> TH 






^•^^. 



■Tl t— I 1— I r— I 



00 LO 1^ 



^ CO 10 



CO CO 00 1—1 



CO C5 Ci 00 



(N CO Tf 

J5 o C5 



lO "T) 10 



T-( IC) CO CM 






C^10<MCOCM(MC5.-(TtirtH 



iCC^ 



O Ci lO 



.-H ^ O 






5'^ 



;2i>^ 



(M r-H lO 10 



^ s ^ 



Jj ^ © 

o Lii -^ 

i^ W -J2 

^' s -< 

pq d d 



s ^ 



^• 




>> 




to 


9 






£5 




' 5 


%. 





^ 


'S 



-c 





S 


1 




f^ 


cS 





2 




s 


A 




^^ 


M 


tf 


Q 


a? 


J 


oq 


U 


'^ 


i 




C 




0) 




^ 


c 


6 


CJ 


fl 




w 


.6 


•s 


^ 


^ 




35 


-i; 


s 


< 


he 

s 


5 









3 


;2; 



5 o 



a ^; 



1^ s J 



I04 STATE OF WYOMING. 



THE STATE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING. 



Wyoming has always been deeply interested in the educa- 
tion of her youth. Even before statehood had been conferred, 
she had crowned the structure of her public education with a 
university untrammeled by sectarian control. The foundation 
of the University of Wyoming was a bill passed by the Ninth 
Legislature of the territory, which convened January 12, 1886. 
Under that act the governor appointed a Building Commission, 
which went promptly to work. The university was opened to 
students in the fall of 1887, and has been growing in attendance, 
faculty and equipment ever since. 

From the time of opening there has been a College of Lib- 
eral Arts and a Preparatory School. In 1891 the departments 
of Agriculture, Mechanical Engineering and Normal Instruc- 
tion were expanded into full schools. A School of Mines and 
a School of Military Science were founded the following year, 
and a School of Music made its appearance in 1895. More- 
over, in all colleges of the' university, students of mature years 
are permitted to pursue, under the direction of the faculty, one 
or two distinct lines of study. Regular graduate subjects are 
offered, and several students are working for advanced degrees. 

The courses have all been thoroughly revised and are now 
of equal excellence -with those of the best colleges and technical 
schools in the country. Several a'lumni of the university have 
been admitted by large universities to work for higher degrees 
on the same termis as their own graduates. 

Two literary clubs have been organized by the students. 
Music, essays, readings, a journal, and a debate form part of 
the program of each meeting of these societies. Another 
association, where debating is the prominent feature, has also 
been established. An English club meets once a week with 
the professor of English for the reading and discussion of 
English classics. Besides the orchestras connected with the 
literary societies, the students maintain a brass band, a glee 
club, and a chora'l society. A camera club, various scientific 
societies, and a flourishing athletic association complete the 
list of student organizations. A L^niversity Extension asso- 
ciation has been established by the faculty, and the professors 
are always ready to deliver courses or single lectures without 
charge. 



,.t 



\ 



^w 





J 



EDUCATIONAL ADVANTAGES. 



105 



The Presidents of the University of Wyoming have been 
John W. Hoyt, M. D., LL. D., 1887-91; Albinus A. Johnson, 
D. D., 1891-96; Frank P. Graves, Ph. D., LL. D., 1897-98, 
and Elmer E. Smiley, the present incumbent. The faculty 
now consists of fifteen members, each of whom has a repu- 
tation as a teacher and a scholar. Several professors in the 
various sciences have published their researches, and are widely 
known for their brilliant and accurate work. 

Although the standard of scholarship has been constantly 
raised, the number of students has from the first steadily 
increased, as the following table will show: 

STUDENT ATTENDANCE AT UNIVERSITY OF 
WYOMING. 



Year. 
1887-88. 
1888-89. 
1889-90. 
1890-91 . 
1891-92. 
1892-93. 
1893-94. 
1894-95. 
1895-96. 
1896-97. 
1897-98. 



President. No. of Students. 

J. W. Hoyt 72 

J. W. Hoyt 75 

J. W. Hoyt JJ 

J. W. Hoyt and A. A. Johnson yj 

. A. A. Johnson 120 



. A. A. Johnson 105 

.A. A. Johnson 108 

.A. A. Johnson 106 

. A. A. Johnson 118 

. F. P. Graves 160 

. F. P. Graves 186 

It is also estimated that the number of students in 1898-99 
will be well over two hundred. A pleasing feature of the 
increase in attendance is that, whereas, a few years ago only 
about a dozen students resided outside of Laramie, now every 
portion of the state is represented, although the number of Lar- 
amie students remains as large as ever. The result has been 
that it is now accepted throughout Wyoming that the univer- 
sity belongs to no particular section, and that every portion of 
the state should be equally interested in its welfare. 

The cost of living in Laramie depends upon the habits of 
the individual, but is, in most cases, very reasonable. Young 
men who join the University Boarding Club can bring their 
entire expenses down to fourteen dollars a month. While the 
university cannot promise employment to all who desire to 
earn their own living, those who wish to find work are generally 
successful, and the President is ready to aid all students in 
securing work as far as it is possible. 



io6 STATE OF WYOMING. 

SUFFRAGi QUALIFISATIONS, 



Under the Constitution of the state, the right of citizens 
to vote and hold office cannot be abridged on account of sex, 
and male and female citizens enjoy equally all civil, political 
and religious rights and privileges. Before voting, electors 
must have resided in the state one year, w^ithin the county 
sixty and w^ithin the precinct thirty days, and be able to read 
the State Constitution in the English language, unless unable 
from physical disability to do so. All balloting is by the 
Australian system, and elections are invariably quiet and or- 
derly. The question is frequently asked w^hether the women 
of the state participate in the elections. A careful compilation 
of the votes cast on the third of November, 1896, shows that 
of the total number cast, 33 per cent were cast by women. The 
right to vote for territorial offices was granted to women 
December 10, 1869, and the same privilege was incorporated 
in the State Constitution, with the result that the women of 
Wyoming today enjoy the same rights of suffrage as do the 
men, voting for all officers, both federal and state. 



CLIMATE OF WYOMING. 



BY W. S. PALMER, 
Observer United States ' Weather Bureau at Cheyenne. 

In treating of the climate of Wyoming, one must consider 
the great diversity of the surface of the state. Traversed, as it 
is, by the main range of the Rocky mountains, as well as by 
several spurs from this main range, these several ranges enclos- 
ing valleys of dififerent altitudes, the climate of the state must 
be complex, varying, to a certain extent, according to location. 
The elevation of the habitable portions of the state vary from 
3,500 feet to 9,000 feet above sea level. The lowest portion 
of the state embraces the broad valley Iving between the Big 
Horn mountains on the west and the Black Hills of South 
Dakota on the west, with an elevation from 3,500 to 5,500 feef, 
while the Green River valley, which embraces the greater part 



CLIMATE OF WYOMING. 



107 



of the southwestern portion of the state, has an elevation of 
from 6,000 to 8,000 feet. CHmatic data from the following 
three stations, situated in different portions of the state, will 
be considered: 
Station. County. Elevation. 

Cheyenne Laramie 6,105 

Lander Fremont 5>372 

Sundance Crook 4,700 

BAROMETRIC PRESSURE. 

The actual pressure for the year 1897, as computed from 
two daily observations at Cheyenne and Lander, was 24.01 in. 
and 24.64 in., respectively, this being the pressure felt at the 
two stations, no elevation correction having been applied to 
the barometer readings to reduce them to sea level. To reduce 
these readings to sea level ,there would have to be added press- 
ure 6.03 in. and 5.42 in., respectively, these amounts showing 
the decrease in pressure, due to elevation. The low pressure 
at these altitudes is very noticeable to persons coming directly 
from much lower altitudes, but permanent residents experience 
no discomforts from its effects. 

TEMPERATURE. 

The high altitude makes the summers comparatively short. 
The winters are not usually severe, though the state is subject 
to severe cold waves, yet such are seldom of long duration. The 
folldwing table gives the mean monthly and mean annual tem- 
perature for each station for the past five years: 

TEMPERATURE FOR FIVE YEARS. 



STATION. 







n 
P 





> 


g 
p 
^ 




■ 


> 


1 
CD 

s 

a" 


§ 

t 



< 

1 






B 
% 



Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 

Lander 
Lander 
Lander 
Lander 
Lander 

Sundance 
Sundance 
Sundance 
Sundance 
Sundance 



1893|32.0125.2|31, 

1894125. 4|20.4|33, 
1895124. 8|21.8|31, 
1896|32.2|30.6|29, 
1897123.8125.8129. 



11893120. 
11894117. 
11895118, 
11896124. 
11897115. 

I I 

11893119, 

il89iil3, 

1189517. 
!189623, 
11897116 



3119. 2|28 
7112.6132 
4119.5131 

6129.2128 
0123.0128 

I I 
81.... 121 
0113.8126 
7114.8127 
0126.0124 
9119.2121 



,9138.6148 
.2|44.0|54 
.0146.1150 
,4141. 6|51 
,1140.0155 

I I 
,8137. 0|49 
,0|43.6154 
,0146. 2|51 

,4139.4148 

,6|42.9157 

,5|35.2148 
,6|42.2|54 
.0145.7148 
,3140.0151 
.3|39.9154 



,3162.2168, 
,0|61.4167. 
,6|56.8|63, 
,8162.8166, 
,0159. 8|65. 

I I 
,0160.1167. 
.2160.0166. 
,1156. 3|63. 
,9163.2168. 
,6|60.2|65. 

I I 
.6162.1169, 
.01. ...166. 
,6155.6164. 
.8162.6167, 
.5158.1164 



4|64.2|58, 

7|66.8|56, 
0165. 2|59, 
6|66.2|55, 
0|64.8|61. 

I I 
0163.8154. 

8166.8152. 
6164.8154. 
0164.8153. 
1164.9158. 

I I 
0166.2157. 
7i68.8154. 
4J64.6I55. 
2166.6151. 
6163.6163, 



2|46. 81 34.8132.8145.3 
4|49.2|41.0127.6|45.6 
6144.61 33. 4|27. 2143. 7 
0146.01 30. 0|36.4|45. 7 

8|46.4137.4|25.0|44.5 



9|43.5129 
9145.8136 
6143.2125 

8|43.5125 



1134 

8j27 
9133 
9128 



2|45 

I 

7|41 
2144 
4|43 
9143.0118 

7145.4126 



.6|26.8142.2 
. 812.0. 3|42.5 
.1|18.7|41.0 
.0127.4[43.0 
.5116.0142.6 

I I 
.6|23.8|.... 
.6|26.7|.... 
.0121.8140.6 
.1131.0142.1 
.0118.8141.0 



io8 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



The maximum and minimum temperature for each month, 
as given in the following table, will serve to show the range of 
temperature in the different parts of the state: 



December. 


=3 '-? 


1 

CO rH 


1 

tq 55 

Irt rH 


00 r!. 




1 

:0 rH 


=4 


November 


C<1 LO 


C5 rH 


&j r-( 


o u:i 


s^ 


O T-^ 

^ rH 


1 ! 


October.. . 




C- tH 




L- rH 




s:5 


00 cq 


September 


>0 CO 


r-I -^ 

00 (rq 


Cj lO 

00 irq 


O rH 
u^ CO 


O- lO 
00 Csl 


LO Wi 
a C<1 


t- o 

OS CO 


August. . . . 


00 i-H 
00 ^ 


00 c- 

00 CO 


00 CO 
00 CO 


O C<1 

CD Tf 


CO LO 
00 CO 


C?5 O 

00 ■* 


00 CD 

OS Ttl 


July ' 

1 




en c<i 

00 CO 


00 CO 


CD Tt^ 


LO O 
00 CO 


00 CO 

00 -# 


M LO 


June 


00 CO 


CO CO 
00 CO 


CO Oi 

00 <:■<» 


00 lA 

00 CO 


(>q CD 
OO C<1 


05 C^ 

00 CO 


t- o 

CD CO 


May. .... 


CD 00 


t- CO 




00 C<1 


t- cq 


O CD 
00 <M 


T^^ LO 

OS <?q 


April 


tH CO 




C<1 S<l 


t£> CO 
C- rH 


t-'LO 

«3 


lO LO 


o o 

00 T-A 


March 


cq o 


1 
-* r-I 


LO cq 


rH 00 


1 

o to 

LO 


t- CO 

LO ?q 


1 

CO 00 


I February.. 




o o 

•'tl 1—1 


1- 

O rH 


1 
rH Ttl 
LO 




1 
o as 


1 


Januai-y . 


LO CM 


1 

O OS 
Tt* (^q 


1 
00 lO 


1 
lO LO 

LO ^ 


1 


LO t>- 


1 1 

OO rH 1 
lO M 


O 


is 

rt d 


^^ 

II 

o o 
^^ 

o o 


ii 

o O 


ii 
Is 

S e 

53 


ii 

a; ai 


ii 

OJ CD 

mm 


II 



PRECIPITATION. 

Wyoming is situated in what is termed the semi-arid region 
of the west, and although many crops are raised without irri- 
gation, the seasonable precipitation is too light for best results. 



CLIMATE OF WYOMING. 



109 



The average yearly precipitation for the state is between thir- 
teen and fourteen inches. Beiow is given the monthly precip- 
itation for the past five years: 

PRECIPITATION FOR FIVE YEARS. 



STATION. 




p 




6 


> 


5? 

P 


5 




a? 


^ 
1 

3 


§ 
^ 

% 


2; 

< 

2 
2 




3 


1 


• 




•-? 


v; 














^ 


























'^ 











Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 
Cheyenne 

Lander . 

Lander . 

Lander . 

Lander . 

Lander . 

Sundance 
Sundance 
Sundmce 
Sundance 
Sundance 



18y3iU.U8|U 
[1894 0.2010 

|1895|0.29J0 
|1896|0.68|0, 
|1897|0.27i0 

I I I 
|1893|0.02]1 

1189410. 4910 

11895|0.68i0 

118960.240 

|1897;0.23|1 

I I 1 
1189310.801. 
|1894|1.10i0 
I1895I1.202 

|1896j0.70|l 
|1897|2.00|2 



87!0.78|1. 
72i0.93il, 
30[1.26|1, 
3112. 06|2. 

,57|2.32|0, 

I I 
,55|1.34|2 
,92|3.29|0 
,21il.l7|5 
,26|2.63|1 
,lljl.38|l 

I I 
. ..|0.90|1 
.75|1.50i0 
,10i2.50l2 
.90i4.50|2 
.30|1.90|l 



36]1.64|1 
64|1.24|0 

21|2.73|2 
08|2.85|1, 
60|3.07|1 

I I 
14|1.57|1 

75jl.22i0 
71|1.32'|1 



20|1. 
14|1, 
I 



75 1 G 
2510 

I 



4513.4911 

8413. 18{. 
48J3.4715 
7111. 94|3 
67il.57l4 



.3310.69|1, 

.6413.2512, 
.5912. 54|1, 
4116. 35|2, 

.6013.77|1, 

I I 
.05|0.12|0 
.5111.0910 
.9010.1911 
.1213.0010 
.85|1.21|1 

I I 
.7511.7510 
...|2.01|0 
.25|0.45|1 
.4512.38|0 
.1911.98|2 



1410.2910.22 
1711.2310.18 
6910. 3910. 95j 
52|2.08l0.28l 
6610.41|1.03 

I I 
92i0.29|0.56 
1112.2910.03 
04|1.74|1.00 
49jl. 0810.74 
11|0.15|1.12 

I I 
,97|0.46|1.84 
3710.9112.75 
35|0.75{0.47 
53|3.3510.66 
,48|0.4310.72 



0.29|0 
0.08|0 
0.63j0 
0.14,0 

0.6811 

I 

0.57|0 

0.37|0 

2.30| 

0.81| 

0.4411 

I 
0.50jl 
0.98 1 

2 .72,2 
1.2010 
1.53|1 



53 9.22 

.70 12.98 
.18|14.76 
.03i20.79 
.27|17.25 

I 
.76110.89 
.03111.10 
T 117.26 
T |12.32 
.29111.21 

I 

.05| 

.36| 

.10124.84 
.40|23.72 
.30-22.07 



CLOUDINESS. 



Clear clays are the rule in Wyoming, not the exception. 
The air is dry, and the damp, oppressive days, or so-called 
"muggy days"' of the central and eastern states, are almost 
unknown here. The following table for the year 1897, will 
serve to show the number of rainy, clear, party cloudy and 
cloudy days during the year: 

Days with Partly 

STATION. rain. Clear. clear. Cloudy. 

Cheyenne 106 138 156 71 

Four Bear 60 212 94 59 

Lander 75 126 157 82 

Laramie 81 136 179 50 

Sundance 94 126 154 85 

Wheatland 35 174 107 84 

The term ''rainy day" is used to indicate a day on which 
.01 in. or more of precipitation fell; the term a ''clear day" to 
indicate a day when the sky has been three-tenths or less 
obscured; "partly cloudy," when the sky has been from four- 
tenths to seven-tenths obscured; and "cloudy" when the sky 
has been more than seven-tenths obscured. 



no STATE OF WYOMING. 

i 

The average daily cloudiness for 1897 was 49 per cent 
at Cheyene, and 50 per cent at Lander. At Cheyenne there 
was an average of 62 per cent of the possible sunshine for the 
year. On only two days did dense fog prevail at Cheyenne 
for more than one hour at a time. 



Railroad Facilities. 



The tourist, passing through Wyoming, sees little of the 
agricultural portion of the state, as the railroads, for the most 
part, run through the open plains and on the divides between 
water courses, while the farming settlements, as in all semi-arid 
regions, are in the valleys of the rivers and creeks. 

The Union Pacific railroad passes entirely across the 
southern portion of the st^te, and is the means of transporta- 
tion for many thousands of settlers in the valleys of the Laramie, 
Platte, Green and Bear rivers, which run at right angles, practi- 
cally, with the line of road. This road has 499.55 miles of main 
Hne track, 34.22 miles of branch hues and 171.08 miles of side- 
track, which, with depots, section houses and rolling stock, 
was assessed in 1897 for $4,668,558. 

Two daily trains run over this line, which, with its connec- 
tions, run through trains from Chicago to San Francisco and 
Portland. 

These trains stop at all principal points in the state ; stage 
lines run from Laramie to North Park and surrounding mining 
camps; from Fort Steele to Saratoga and the upper Platte 
valley to North Park ; from Rawlins to Lander and Fort Wash- 
akie, with connectinof mail lines to the smallei postoffices, and 
slso south to the Colorado line. 

The Cheyenne & Northern branch of the Gulf system has 
15:^68 mi^es of road running from Cheyenne to Orin, where it 
rrakcs connection with the Wyoming Central, a branch of the 
Northwestern system. This road has a good track, 9.73 miles 
of sidetrack, and an assessed valuation of $599,352. An accom- 
modation train runs daily, except Sunday, each way over the 
line, and makes close connections with trains at each terminus. 

During the spring months thousands of cattle are brought 



RAILROAD FACILITIES. 1 1 1 

into the state over this Hne and turned on the open ranges to 
fatten for market. Valuable deposits of iron, copper and onyx 
are found near the northern terminus of the line, which, when 
developed, will afford an increasing freight trafific. 

The Oregon Short Line railroad has 92.34 miles of main 
line and 8.87 miles of sidetrack in this state, running from its 
junction with the Union Pacific at Granger to a junction with 
the other branches of its system at Pocatello, Idaho. This 
line forms part of the through train system from Chicago to 
Portland. Immense coal deposits are now being developed 
near Diamondville and Kemmerer, which will soon double the 
freight traffic of the road. The part of this line in Wyoming- 
is assessed at $590,976. 

The Wyoming Central branch of the Northwestern system 
has a trackage of 130.43 miles in Wyoming, and runs from its 
junction with another branch of the Fremont, Elkhorn & 
Misosuri Valley railroad at Chadron, Neb., to its terminus at 
Casper, Wyoming. Daily trains are run, except Sunday, con- 
necting at Omaha with the through transcontinental trains of 
the Northwestern system. This line has opened a section of 
the state rich in agricultural posibilities and underlaid witH 
coal, oil and natural gas. Connections are made at Orin Junc- 
tion with the Cheyenne & Northern, and at Crawford, Ne- 
braska, with the Burlington, affording a valuable link in rail- 
road transportation between the northern and southern portions 
of the state. Stage lines run from Casper into the interior of 
the state, reaching Lander and points in the Big Horn basin. 
This line is valued for assessment at $508,677. 

The Burlington system has two branches entering Wyo- 
ming, twenty-nine miles of the Cheyenne and Holdrege line 
running into Cheyenne and bringing valuable competition for 
freight traffic to the adjacent territory, while the Grand Island 
& Northern branch traverses the northeastern portion of the 
state for about two hundred and forty miles, and has built up 
fourishing settlements near the coal deposits of Weston and 
Sheridan counties, as well as in the agricultural portions of that 
section of the state. Through trains are run daily over this 
line, connecting at Lincoln, Nebraska, with the through trains 
of the system, and at Billings, Montana, with the through trains 
cf the Northern Pacific. 

The RurHngton lines in Wyoming have an assessed value 
of $1,044,543. 



112 STATE OF WYOMING. 

Stage lines are run from Moorecroft to Sundance, Clear- 
mont to Buffalo, and from Sheridan to points in the Big Horn 
basin. 

In order to reach the extreme western central part of the 
state, comprising Star valley and the Jackson's lake region, in 
Uinta county, it is necessary to enter the state from the Idaho 
side. 

The road into the valley of Jackson's lake crosses Teton 
pass at an elevation of about 8,400 feet. 

In addition to the lines of railroad above mentioned, there 
are some small branches from Carbon to Hanna, Evanston to 
Almy and Red Canon, and Laramie to the Soda lakes. 

The total assessed valuation of all railroads and telegraph 
lines m Wyoming, in 1897, including rolling stock and Pullman 
cars, was $7,640,193.50. 

In addition to the lines of the Western Union Telegraph 
company, Vv^hich follow the railroads, a short line runs from Fort 
Steele to Saratoga; one from Rawlins to Lander; one from 
Clearmont to Buffalo. 

A telephone line runs from Cheyenne to Laramie, and 
Buffalo to Sheridan. 



LIVE STOCK 



BY HON. A. A. HOLCOMBE, 
State Veterinarian. 

The live stock industry of Wyoming, which long has been 
and is now her most important one, has a history as varied 
and romantic as a sixteenth century tale. Her first herds were 
gathered and reared by men who preceded the first attempts 
at actual settlement of the territory lying in the pathway of that 
great overland migration to the Pacific coast, which began in 
the middle of the present century, her territory was necessarily 
traversed by lon^ trains of countless ox teams, many of which,' 
through accident or disease, were destined never to reach their 
journey's end. Sick, injured, footsore and poor, these animals 
were abandoned to live as best they might or become a prey 
for. the wild beasts of mountain and plain. That many of them 




'■'^^ 





LIVE STOCK. 113 

lived through the winter following and were fat enough for beef 
in the early spring-time, proved a revelation to the man accus- 
tomed to long and expensive winter feeding, and forced his 
attention to the fact that our mountain grasses must possess 
nutritious qualities of marvelous worth. Tempted by these 
evidences of easy thrift, one by one the white man elected to 
become the neighbor of the savage, and planted, here and there 
on mountam stream, his cabin and corral. To raise horses and 
cattle, was, for our earliest settlers, an easy matter; but to keep 
them was quite a different proposition; for the Indian had 
little respect for the rights of ownership, and no horse was safe 
beyond the reach of a bullet from his owner's trusty rifle. A 
tew years of these exciting experiences and we find the red man 
forced back by the hand of the settler, whose herds had mul- 
tiplied and now demanded wider and safer range. Fast follow- 
ing on these early days of settlement, of danger, and of accu- 
mulation came the ''boom" in the catt'le business during the 
early '80s, marked by the investment of millions of dollars by 
men who knew^ nothing of the business in which they so reck- 
lessly embarked. The early settler, however, could scarcely 
deem it an ''ill wind" that brought him a purchaser for his ranch, 
his herd of cattle and his horses; and so it happened that many 
a man awoke to find himself comfortably rich, who, but a few 
years before, could have packed all of his earthly possessions 
on a single burro, or even on his own back. But this period 
of unwarranted speculation, fancy prices and extravagant waste 
was of short duration, and naturally enough was followed by a 
rapid depression of prices and the consequent failures of the 
inexperienced. And yet, deplorable as were the results, this 
bitter experience teaches no new lesson in domestic economy; 
neither does it in any wise detract from the material advantages 
which this state oiTers to anyone who would embark in stock 
raisirg as a legitimate business enterprise. Embracing about 
98,000 square miles of territory, nearlv every acre of which is 
clothed in. a mantle of the most nutritious grasses, Wyoming 
present a territory for grazing purposes 40 per cent larger than 
all of the eastern states combined. Add to this vast food supply 
the most delightful climate in the world, with cool summers and 
dry, mild winters, and it is but little wonder that Wyoming has 
been called the "Stockman's Paradise." 

The requisites for success in the business are a home, some 
hay land, a few cattle, horses or sheep, and attention to their 
wants In stormy weather. The man who can furnish these for 
a few years, will, with common prudence, find himself Inde- 
pendent of the world, and his old age may be spent In that 
peace which plenty best can bring. 

—8 



114 STATE OF WYOMING. 

< 
That success can be achieved by raising cattle in the oUl 
way is a conclusion dissipated by an experience of the last 
twenty years. To turn stock loose upon the range in large 
numbers, without regard to the condition of the food supply, 
or provision for bad weather, had brought disaster to every 
large herd in the state; and today finds in their stead hundreds 
of small owners, whose thrift is attested by prosperous homes 
and a bank account with a balance on the satisfactory side of 
the ledger. To these natural conditions, which have always 
favored the stock raising industry, must be added the zealous 
care with which the state has ever guarded the health of her 
live stock; for no state in the Union has provided better laws 
and sanitary regulations against the introduction of disease than 
has Wyoming, and nowhere is the mortality less, or a guar- 
antee for future protection better than here. 

With these many advantages to her credit, Wyoming bids 
welcome to her fertile valleys and grass-grown hills every man 
who seeks a home where the gaunt fingers of want are un- 
strung and his daily bread unsoured by the sweat of honest toil. 



GOVERNMENT LANDS. 



BY HON. W. E. CHAPLIN, 
Register United States Land Office, Cheyenne. 

The area of Wyoming is 97,883 square miles, or 62,645,120 
acres. Of this vast area 51,890,201 acres are surveyed, and 
10,754,919 acres are unsurveyed. 

The public lands vacant and subject to entry and settle- 
ment in the state, according to the last report received from 
the United States General Land Oi^ce, w^ere: Surveyed lands, 
42,173,839 acres; unsurveyed, 7,167,744 acres; total, 49,341,- 
583 acres. 

The unappropriated lands of the United States in the state 
of Wyoming, as comprised in the several United States land 
districts, are as follows: 



LIVE STOCK. 115 

District. Surveyed. Unsurveyed. Total. 

Buffalo 6,860,891 883,440 7,744,331 

Cheyen.ve 8,854,910 424,659 9,279,569 

Douglas 7,467,640 655,670 8,123,310 

Evanston 9,213,351 2,825,415 12,038,766 

Lander 4,624,328 2,378,560 7,002,888 

Sundance 5,152,719 5,152,719 

Total 42,173,839 7,167,744 49,341,583 

The same report gives the area of unappropriated and 
unreserved lands in the several counties in the state as follows: 

Albany i ,746,076 

Big Elorn 6,533,060 

Carbon 3,683,868 

Converse 4,051,949 

Crook . ,. 3'099'527 

Fremont 5,683,126 

Laramie ........ ...... ... 2,892,293 

Jchnson 2,438,422 

Natrona 3^3 1 1 4^6 

Sheridan ' 1,313,138 

S\ve:twater. . . . , 6,406,249 

Uinta 5,603,264 

Weston 2,579,147 

Total . 49,341,583 

The public lands in Wyoming consist chiefly of grazing, 
timber and agricultural, though there are large areas of coal, 
oil and mineral lands. 

The agricultural lands are those lying contiguous to the 
rivers and streams and are vast in extent, but crops cannot be 
successfully raised without irrigation. By the app'lication of 
water the soil is rendered very productive, and is not surpassed 
by the fertile states of the Missisisppi and Missouri valleys. 

The laws under which title may be acquired by citizens of 
the L"nit?d States to Government lands are the homestead law, 
the desert land law, the timber and stone law, and the coal and 
mineral laws. 

HOMESTEAD LAW. 

The homestead law secures to qualified persons the right 

to settle upon, enter and acquire title to not exceeding one 

quarter section of one hundred and sixty acres of public land, 

by establishing and maintaining residence thereon and improv- 



ii6 STATE OF WYOMING. 

< 

ing and cultivating the land for the period of five years. A 
homestead entryman must be the head of a family, or a person 
who has arrived at the age of twenty-one years. He must be 
a citizen of the United States, or one who had declared his 
intention to become such, as required by the naturalization 
laws. The act of March 3, 1891, attaches the condition that 
he must not be the proprietor of more than one hundred and 
sixty acres of land in any state or territory. 

The class of lands subject to entry under the homestead 
laws are described by the statutes as unappropriated public 
lands. Parties who are prevented by reason of distance, bodily 
infirmity or other good cause from personal attendance at the. 
district land office may make the preliminary affidavits for 
homestead entries within the county in which they reside before 
any commissioner of the United States court having jurisdic- 
tion over the county in which the land is situated, or before the 
judge or clerk of anv court of record of such county, and to 
transmit the same, with their application and the proper fees 
and commissions, to the Register and Receiver of the district 
land office, thus permititng entries to be effected without per- 
sonal attendance at the district office. Applicants availing 
themselves of this privilege 'are required -to transmit with their 
applications an affidavit setting forth specifically why they 
cannot appear at the land office. 

Where a wife has been divorced from her husband or 
deserted, so that she is dependent upon her own resources for 
support, she can make a homestead entry as the head of a family 
or femme sole. 

A single woman who makes a homestead entry and marries 
before making proof, does not forfeit her right, provided she 
does not abandon her residence on the land to reside elsewhere. 
Where two parties, however, unite in marriage, each having 
an unperfected homestead entry, both entries cannot be carried 
to patent. A residence elsewhere than on the land entered 
for more than six months is treated as an abandonment of a 
homestead entry. 

Parties desiring to commute their homestead entries to- 
cash are required to make proof of settlement and of residence 
and cultivation of the land for a period of fourteen months from 
the date of entry. 

There are many other provisions relating to restoration 
of rights, adjoining homesteads, soldiers' and sailors' home- 
stead rights, additional entries, etc., too numerous to mention? 
in the space of this brief article. 



LIVE STOCK. 



117 



The following is a table of fees and commissions charged 
in the mountain states: 





CLASS OF 


COM MISSIONS. 


FEE. 






PAYABLE WHEN 


PAYABLE WHEN 


PAYABLE WHEN 




ACRES 


LANDS. 


ENTRY IS MADE. 


CERTIFICATES 
ISSUES. 


ENTRY IS MADE 


TOTAL SUM. 


160 


I250 


$12.00 


$12.00 


$10.00 


$ H-oo 


80 


2.50 


6.00 


6.00 


5.00 


17.00 


40 


250 


3.00 


3.00 


500 


11.00 


160 


1.25 


0.00 


6.00 


10 00 


22.00 


80 


125 


3.00 


3.00 


5.00 


11.00 


40 


1.25 


1.50 


1.50 


5.00 


8.00 



DESERT LANDS. 

All lands, exclusive of timber lands and mineral Jands, 
which will not, without artificial irirgation, produce some agri- 
cultural crop, are deemed desert lands, and are subject to entry 
under the desert land law. The party making entry is required 
at the time of filing his declaration to file also a map of the land, 
which will exhibit a plan showing the mode of contemplated 
irrigation, and which plan will be sufficient to thoroughly irri- 
gate and reclaim said land and prepare to raise ordinary agri- 
cultural crops. Persons may associate together in the con- 
struction of canals and ditches for irrigating and reclaiming 
tracts entered or proposed to be entered by them, and they file 
a joint map, or maps, showing their plan of internal improve- 
ment,3. No person is permitted to enter more than three 
hundred and twenty acres of land in the aggregate under all 
the 'land laws of the United States, mineral lands excepted. 
Parties initiating desert claims are required to show observance 
of such inhibition. 

The right to make desert land entries is restricted to resi- 
dent citizens of the state in which the land sought is located. 
Citizenship and residence must be duly shown. The entryman 
must expend at least three dollars per acre, one dollar per acre 
during each year for three years, and must file proof thereof 
during each year, such proof to consist of his affidavit, corrob- 
orated by the affidavits of two or more witnesses, showing that 
the full sum of one dollar per acre has been expended during 
such year and the manner in which expended, and at the expi- 
ration of three years a map or plan showing the character and 
extent of the improvements. 

Failure to file the required proof during any year shall 
cause the land to revert to the United States, the money paid 
to be forfeited and the entry to be canceled. The party may 



ii8 STATE OF WYOMING. 

make his final entry and receive his patent at any time prior 
to the expiration of three " years by making required proof of 
reclamation and of the expenditure of the aggregate amount 
of three dollars per acre, and of the cultivation of one-eighth 
cf the land. Persons making desert land entries must acquire 
clear right to the use of sufficient water for the purpose of irri- 
gating the whole of the land, and of keeping it permanently 
irrigated. Persons making desert land entries before they have 
secured a water right, do so at their own risk. The price of 
land sought to be entered under the provisions of the desert 
land act is $1.25 per acre, without regard to the situation of 
the lands in relation to railroad grants. When proof of the 
character of the land has been made, the applicant will pay the 
Receiver twenty-five cents per acre for the land applied for. 
At the time of making final proof the payment of one dollar 
per acre is required. 

TIMBER AND STONE ENTRIES. 

The act of June 3, 1878, provides that surveyed lands in 
the public land states, valuable chiefly for timber and stone, 
unfit for cultivation and consequently unfit for disposal under 
the homestead and desert laws, may be purchased by individuals 
and by associations at the minimum price of two dollars and 
fifty cents per acre. A party making application to purchase 
a tract of this character is required to make affidavit that he is 
a citizen of the United States by birth or naturalization, or that 
he has declared his- intention to become a citizen under the 
naturalization laws. The quantity of land which may be 
acquired 'lawfully under said act by any one person or associa- 
tion is limited to not exceeding one hundred and sixty acres, 
which must be in one body. 

COAL. 
A qualified person has the right to enter bv legal sub- 
division any quantity of coal lands in the United States not 
otherwise appropriated or reserved by competent authority, not 
exceeding one hundred and sixty acres to such individual 
person or three hundred and twentv acres to an association, 
upon payment to the Government of not less than ten dollars 
per acre for such lands, where the same shall be situated more 
than fifteen miles from any completed railroad, and not less 
than twentv dollars per acre for such lands as shall be within 
fifteen miles of such road. A party or association having 
opened and improved any coal mine, or mines, UDon the public 
lands, and who shall be in actual possession of the same, is 



PUBLIC LIBRARIES. 119 

entitled to a preference right of entry, and it is provided that 
when any association of not less than four persons, duly qual- 
ified, as provided by law, shall have expended not less than 
^-ve thousand dollars in working and improving any coal mine, 
or mines, such association may enter not exceeding six hun- 
dred and forty acres, including such mining improvements. 

MINES AND MINERAL LANDS. 

Lands valuable for deposits of mineral, such as fire and 
pottery clays, marble, asphalt, soda, sulphur, diamonds or of 
the precious and common metals, are subject to sale under the 
mining laws. A location must be first duly made and recorded, 
and certain sums must be annually expended. Five hundred 
dollars' worth of labor and improvements must be laid out on 
each claim before patent can be applied for. The rules and 
regulations and methods of procedure are too extensive and 
complex to be reviewed at length in the compass of this brief 
article. Mining locations defeat all railroad and state selec- 
tions, if the mines and minerals were discovered and known to 
exist, or were discovered prior to the time the road and state 
claims took efifect. Homestead, desert and timber and stone 
entries cannot embrace known mineral lands, unless it be first 
shown that the lands sought to be entered are more valuable 
for agricultural purposes than for the minerals they contain. 



PUBLIC LIBRARIES 



Wyoming early made provision for the purchase and ex- 
change of valuable law books and reports. The library is in 
charge of the State Librarian, under the direction of the Justices 
of the Supreme Court, and is open during the business hours 
observed in the public offices at the Capitol. The law library 
contains nearlv twenty thousand volumes, exclusive of the 
public laws and documents of the state. 

Of the 260,000 acres of land granted by the general Gov- 
ernment for state charitable, educational, penal and reforma- 
tory institutions, in addition to special land grants for such 
purposes, i.S.ooo acres were set aside in 1897 for the mainte- 
nance of the law librarv. At the present time these lands 
yield an annual income from rents of about seven hundred and 
fifty dollars, which has been used in the purchase of new books. 



120 STATE OF WYOMING. 

An act to increase the state library by adding a miscellane- 
ous collection of standard books was also passed by the Legisla- 
ture in 1897, and fifteen thousand acres of land set aside, the 
income from which is to be used in the maintenance of a miscel- 
laneous library. The nucleus of such a library, consisting of 
several hundred volumes, has been purchased and is now 
avalable to the citizens of the state. Provision has also been 
made by the state for the establishment of county libraries, and 
in many counties such libraries are maintained for the benefit 
of the residents. 

Under the auspices of the Wyoming Historical society, 
have been collected many early books, papers and documents 
bearing upon the early history of Wyoming, and which are open 
to inspection at the state library. 



STATE LANDS. 



HOW THEY MAY BE ACQUIRED. 



: ' BY A. J. PARSHALL, 

Chief Clerk State Board of Land Commissioners. 

There are two classes of, state lands. 

First. — Those donated to the state for various public pur- 
poses, and over which the state has absolute control. 

Second. — Those donated to the state conditional upon 
their reclamation, and known as "arid lands." 

Wyoming, for its various institutions, and by virtue of the 
several acts of Congress, has become the possessor of lands of 
the first class, as follows: 

Under the organic act creating the territory, approved 
July 25, 1868, for the use of the public schools, sec- 
tions sixteen and thirty-six in each township 3,670,000 acres 

Under the act of February 18, 1881, granting to the 
territory for the use and support of a university 
when it shall become a state, seventy-two entire 
sections of land 46,000 acres 



STATE LANDS. 121 

Under the act of admission, approved July 10, 1890, for 
the purpose of erecting public buildings at the Cap- 
ital of the state, fifty entire sections 32,000 acres 

For use of an agricultural college 90,000 acres 

For i:se of insane asylum in Uinta county 30,000 acres 

For vse of penal, lelorm and ♦educational institution in 

Carbon county 30,000 acres 

For use of penitentiary in Albany county 30,000 acres 

For use of fish hatchery in Alb:^-ny county 5,000 acres 

For use cf deaf, d.^mb and blind asylum in Laramie 

For use of poor farm in Fiemont county 10,000 acres 

county 30,000 acres 

For use of hospital for disabled miners. Carbon county. 30,000 acres 

For use of public buildings at the Capital 75,000 acres 

For use of state, charitable, educational and penal insti- 
tutions 260,000 acres 

Total 4,338,000 acres 

Lards included in the foregoing list and not located by the 
acts themselves, have been practically all selected by the state 
authorities, and lands granted in lieu of school lands, where 
possession has been lost to the state because of prior occupa- 
tion, are now being selected, and will become the property of 
the state before the close of the season of 1898. 

Under the provisions of the Constitution and statutes, the 
State' Board of Land Commissioners, consisting of the Gov- 
ernor, Secretary of State and Superintendent of Public Instruc- 
tion, have the direction, control, disposition and care of all 
lands granted to the state. 

MAY BE SOLD. 

The act of admission provides that all school lands, includ- 
ing the grant for the use of the agricultural college, shall be sold 
for not less than ten dollars per acre. The Constitution pro- 
vides further that lands heretofore and hereafter acquired shall 
be sold for not less than ten dollars per acre, and that such 
lands shall be disposed of at public- auction, providing, also, 
that actual and bona fide settlers shall have the preference right 
to purchase in tracts not exceeding one hundred and sixty 
acres. 

MAY BE LEASED. 

Chapter 79 of the Session Laws of 1890-91 authorizes the 
State Board of Land Commissioners to lease any legal subdi- 
vision of the lands of the state at an annual rental not less than 



122 STATE OF WYOMING. 

5 per centum of the valuation thereof, fixed by the board, con- 
ditioned upon the payment of the rent annually, and in advance, 
and for periods of not more than five years. When any lease 
expires by limitation, the lessee may, with the permission of 
the board, renew the same, as follows: - At any time within 
ninety days next preceding the expiration of the lease, the 
lessee or his assigns, shall notify the Register of his desire to 
renew the lease. If the lessee and the board be agreed as to 
the valuation of the land, a new lease shall be issued, bearing 
even date with the expiration of the old one, and upon like con- 
ditions. 

The power given to the board to refuse to renew a lease, 
or to sell state land at the expiration of a lease, or again, to 
lease to other parties than to the original lessee, shall not apply 
whenever the original lessee of the state lands, or his assigns, 
shall have during the period of his lease, or prior thereto, 
rclaimed the same by irrigation, and shall have provided suita- 
ble ditches for its full and complete reclamation, and shall have 
secured an adequate and perpetual water supply for said land, 
then in that case the original lessee shall have the right to 
renew such lease for a term of five years, which renewal may 
be repeated for the same period five years thereafter, and may 
again be repeated for the same period ten years thereafter, 
making a total period not to exceed twenty years; provided, 
that each of said renewals shall be dependent upon the contin- 
uous irrigation and cultivation of at least forty acres in every 
one hundred and sixty acres of said land, and in case the lessee 
shall have failed to cultivate the said land, then said board shall 
have the authority to refuse to renew the lease as hereinbefore 
provided. 

The lessee of state lands is prohibited, in all cases, froni 
cutting or using more timber thereof than shall be necessary 
for the improvement of such lands, or for fuel for use of the 
family of the lessee, and the cutting and hauling of timber from 
leased state lands to saw-mills. 

Any lease of state lands procured by fraud, deceit or mis- 
representation, may be cancelled by the board upon proper 
proof thereof. 

The necessarv blanks will be supplied anv person desiring 
to lease state lands upon application to the Register of the State 
Board of Land Commissioners. 



ARID LANDS. i2- 



ARID LANDS, 



The act of Congress, approved August 18, 1894, donated to the 
state cf Wyoming, conditional upon its reclamation, 1,000,000 acres of 
arid land. The state of Wyoming accepted the conditions of the 
grant, and by Chapter 38 of the Sesison Laws of 1895, provided for its 
reclamation, occupation and disposal, the general provisions oi which 
are an follows: 

REQUEST AND PROPOSAL.— Any person or company of per- 
sons, having constructed, or desiring to construct ditches, canals or 
other irrigation works to reclaim land under the provisions of this 
act, shall file with the State Board of Land Commissioners a request 
for the selection of the land to be reclaimed, and accompany this 
lequest by ?, proposal to construct the ditch, canal or other irrigation 
works necessary for the complete reclamation of the land asked to be 
selected, and to make clear to the board their financial ability to carry 
out the proposed undertaking. 

GUARANTEE.— A certified check for a sum not less than $250, 
nor more than $2,500, as may be determined by the board, and as a 
guarantee that a contract will be entered into with the state, in 
accordancQ with its terms, shall accompany such request and proposal. 

MAPS AND FIELD NOTES.— An accurate survey must be made, 
and maps and field notes furnished the board, in accordance with its 
regulations, with a certified copy of a permit from the State Engineer 
to appropriate water for the reclamation of the land described. 

TERMS OF CONTRACT WITH STATE FOR CONSTRUCTION— 
WITH SETTLER FOR WATER AND LAND— BOND.— Upon the 
withdrawal of the land by the Department of the Interior, it shall 
be the duty of the board to enter into a contract with the parties 
submitting the proposal, which contract shall contain complete 
specifications of the location, dimensions, character and estimated 
cost of the proposed ditch, canal or other irrigation work; the price 
and terms, per acre, at which such works and perpetual water rights 
shall be sold to settlers; Provided, That such price and terms for 
irrigation works and water rights shall in all cases be reasonable and 
just. 

This contract shall not be entered into on the part of the state 
until ?. satisfactory bond is filed by the proposed contractor for irriga- 
tion works, which bond shall be in penal sum equal to 5 per cent of 
the e:timated cost of the works. 

TIME ALLOWED FOR CONSTRUCTION.— No contract shall be 
made by the board which requires a greater time than five years for 
thci construction of the works, and all contracts shall state that the 
work shall begin within six months from date of contract; that at 
least one-tenth of the construction work shall be completed within 
two yeirs from the date of said contract; and that construction shall 
bo prosecuted diligently and continuously to completion. 

APPLICATION FOR ENTRY— COST OF LAND.— Any citizen of 
the United States, or any person having declared his intention to 
te-cmo a citizen of the United States (excepting married women, not 
the heads of families), over the age of twenty-one years, may make 
application, under oath, to the board, to enter any of s'^id land in 
any amount not to exceed one hundred and sixty acres for any one 



J 24 STATE OF WYOMING. 

person. Such application must be accompanied by a certified copy 
oi a contract for a perpetual water right, made and enteied into Dy 
the party making application with the person, company or association 
who have been authorized by the board to furnish water for the 
reclamation of said lands. All applications for entry shall be accom- 
panied by a payment of twenty-five cents per acre, which shall be 
paid as a partial payment on the land, if the application is allowed. 
If the application is not allowed, the twenty-five cents per acre accom- 
panying it shall be returned to the applicant; Provided, That where 
the construction company fails to furnish water to any settler under 
the provisions of its contract with the state, the state shall refund to 
such settler all payments that he shall have made to the state. The 
board shall dispose of all lands accepted by the state under the pro- 
visions of this act at a uniform price of fifty cents per acre, half to 
be paid at the time of entryandthe remainder at the time of making 
final, prooi by the settler. 

RECLAMATION— WHEN TO BEGIN— FINAL PROOF.— Within 
one year after any person, company of persons authorized to construct 
irrigation works under the provisions of this act, shall have notified 
tho settlers under such works that they are prepared to furnish water 
under the terms of their contract with the state, the said settler shall 
cultivate and reclaim not less than one-sixteenth part of the land 
filed upon, and within two years after the said notice, the settler shall 
have actually irrigated and cultivated not less than one-eighth of the 
land filed upon, and within three years from the date of said notice 
the settler shall make final proof of reclamation, settlement and occu- 
pation, which proof shall embrace evidence that he has a perpetual 
water right for his entire tract of land sufficient in volume for the 
ccmp'ete irrigation and reclamation thereof, and that he is an actual 
settler thereon. , 

PATENTS— WATER RIGHTS API^URTENANT.— The water 
rights to all lands acquired under the provisions of this act shall 
attach to and become appurtenant to the land as soon as title passes 
from the United States to the state. 

FEES. — The board shall collect the following fees: For filing 
each application, one dollar; for filing each final proof, one dollar; 
for issuing each patent, one dollar; for making certified copies of 
papers or records, the same fee as provided for to be charged hy the 
Secretary of State for like services. The money collected for fees 
shall bo paid to the Treasurer of the state, and by him credited to the 
fund created by virtue of this act. 

The State Board of Land Commissioners, in 1896, submitted a 
report to the Governor, describing in full the operations under the act, 
with a compilation of the statutes, rules and regulations relating 
thereto, which will be mailed to those interested, upon application to 
the Chief Clerk. 



STOCK CO-MPAXIES. 125 



ST06K COMPANIES-FEES, 



Under the laws of Wyoming, any three or more persons may unite 
for the purpose of incorporating a stock company by making, signing 
and acknowledging before some officer competent to take acknowl- 
edgments of deeds, duplicate certificates in writing, in which shall 
be stated the corporate name of the company, the object for which 
formed, the amount of capital stock, the term of existence, not to 
exceed fifty years, the number of shares, the number of truste3s and 
their names, not more than nine in number, and not less than three, 
and who shall manage the concerns of the company for the first year, 
the nrme of the town and county in which operations shall be carried 
on; and shall file one of said certificates in the office of the County 
Clerk of each county wherein the business of the company is to be 
carried on, and one in the office of the Secretary of State, paying in 
advance to such officers the following fees: To the SecretajT of 
State for filing and recording certificates of incorporation: 

When capital stock does not exceed $5,000 $ 5.00 

When capital stock exceeds $5,000, but does not exceed $100,000. 10.00 
When capital stock exceeds $100,000, the sum of $10.00, and five 

cents add-tional for each $1,000 in excess of $100,000 

To the Secretary of State for filing and recording articles ol incor- 
poration of companies not organized for profit and having no capital 
stock, the foKowing: 

For filing each paper $ 1 . 00 

For recoid.ng the first folio of one hundred words 1.00 

For recording each subsequent folio or fraction , 15 

To the County Clerk for filing and recording any certificate of 
incorporation, ninety cents for the first folio, and ten cents for each 
additional folio of one hundred words. 

FOREIGN CORPORATIONS. 

B3fore transacting business in the state, a foreign corporation is 
required to file, in the office of the Secretary of State and with the 
County Clerk of the county in which the business is to be done, a 
certified copy of its articles of incorporation, together with a certified 
copy of the general incorporation law under which organized, and to 
pay the same fees as required of domestic corporations. A foreign 
corporation is also required to file an acceptance of the Constitution. 



126 STATE OF Wi^OMING. 



WATER 



HOW TO SECURE THE USE OF WATER FOR IRRI- 
GATION AND OTHER BENEFICIAL USES. 



As the future agricultural development of the state rests 
largely upon the prudent and economical use and distribution 
of its water supply, it has been deemed a wise step to establish 
a state department under an efihcient ofihcer, who exercises, 
through a Board of Control, careful supervision of the use and 
distribution of the waters of the state. From this department 
have been issued to persons desiring to apply for permits to 
appropriate water, brief instructions, of which the following is 
a copy: 

APPLICATIONS. 

Applications must be made upon the blank form approved 
by the State Engineer. Applications to enlarge existing 
ditches, or to increase the acreage w^atered therefrom, must be 
made on an enlargement blank. In giving dimensions, 
remember the following: 

"Width on top" is the width at surface water line. Depth 
is the depth of water the ditch or canal is to carry. 

The area to be irrigated must be given; where not meas- 
ured, an estimate must be made, and where only part of a 
sub-division is to be watered, the estimate must give the acreage 
in each forty acres of these fractional sub-divisions. 

The law requires applications to be made and aporoved bv 
the State Engineer before work begins. No appUcation whi:h 
Stat -s that woik has begun or has been completed will be 
approved. 

MAPS. 

Each application must be accompanied by two maps, one 
of which must be on tracing linen. 

These maps must be drawn to a scale of two inches to the 
mile, or larger, and on sheets not less than six by nine inches. 

They must show the location of the heads^ate by courses 
and distance from some Government corner. Thev must show 



WATER. 127 

the actual location of the ditch or canal, and where Government 
survey Hnes are crossed, the distance to the nearest corner must 
be given. (Where corners cannot be found, give the location 
of hne by courses and distances.) 

The map must show the course of and name of stream from 
which water is taken; the location and area of land to be 
irrigated, or place where water is to be used for other purposes. 
(This may be done by marking the boundaries or by coloring 
the areas.) 

Wherever the canal line crosses streams or other ditches, 
the location of such crossings must be shown, and such inter- 
secting streams and ditches must be be marked by ink of a 
difterent color. 

Maps must contain the name of the ditch, canal or reser- 
voir, and the postofifice of the surveyor, with date of survey. 
RESERVOIRS AND DAMS. 

Plans of dams, cribs or embankments must be drawn on a 
longitudinal scale of not less than one inch to one hundred feet, 
and for cross sections of not less than one inch to four feet. 
The plans for outlet and waste ways for reservoirs shall be 
drawn on a scale of one inch to four feet. 

The maps of reservoirs shall show the total area to be 
submerged, and enough levels to permit of computing its 
capacity. 

FEES. 

'For filing and examining applications for permits to appro- 
priate water, two dollars. 

For recording statements of claim, one dollar and fifty 
cents. 

For recording applications for reservoir permits, one dollar. 

For recording any other water right instrument — for the 
first one hundred words, one dollar; for each subsequent folio, 
fifteen cents. 

For issuing certificates of appropriation, one dollar. 

For making certified copies of record, per folio, fifteen 
cents. 

For attaching certificate, one dollar. 



128 STATE OF WYOMING. 



THE MINING LAWS OF WYOMING. 



COMPILED BY HON. J. A. VAN ORSDEL, 
Attorney General. 



ORGANIZATION OF MINING DISTRICT. 
Sec. 1. In any mining district or in mining field of discovery of 
veins, leads, lodes or ledges, or of gold placers, petroleum fields, solu- 
ble salt deposits, or of mineral lands whatever, or of any lands that 
are, or may bo hereafter, opened to location under the laws governing 
mineral deposits, the miners may meet and organize and elect a 
recorder and make regulations, not in confiict with the laws of the 
United States or with the laws of this state governing the location, 
manner of recording and amount of annual work necessary to hold 
possession oi! a mining claim within the district subject to the follow- 
ing requirements: 

1. That any five miners having locations, or owning in part or 
in whole, claims within the proposed district, shall give notice by at 
least three written or printed, or partially written and partially 
printed notices, posted in prominent places within the proposed dis- 
trict oi' a meeting called by them for organizing such district at a, 
date at least ten days subsequent to the posting of such notices. 

2. That the meeting thus called shall be attended by at least ten 
persons, all having locations, or owning, in part or in whole, claims 
within the proposed district. 

3. That the recorder elected for such an organized district, shall 
ho:d his office until' his successor is elected and qualified according to 
law. Such recorder is required to give bonds, with at least two sure- 
tie?, to the re-P'e of Wyoming, in the penal sum of not less than one 
thou and dolars for the faithful performance of his duties, and for 
the turn'ng over of all books, papers, records, etc., of his office, to 
his duly elected and qualified successor, which bond shall be approved 
by the Judge of the District Court and filed in the office of the County 
Clerk and ex-Officio Register of Deeds. The recorder of such a 
mining d's'r ct may apiroint a deputy, for whose official acts he shall 
be responsible. 

4. That no district need be organized if the majority, at the 
meeting as hereinbefore provided ,so desire, but when a district is 
once organized, it cannot be sub-divided, except in accordance with 
the local laws of the district, enacted at the regular or special meet- 
ings, or by action of the Legislature of this state. Id case of the 
abandonment of any district, for any cause whatever, it shall be the 
duty of the district recorder, as soon as practicable thereafter, to 
deposit all records and other papers pertaining to his office, in the 
office of the County Clerk and ex-Officio Register of Deeds of the 
county in which such district is located. 

5. Each mining district may regulate the fees to be charged by 
the local recorder for recording location certificates, affidavits of labor 
and all other instruments to be filed in the said recorder's office.. 
(S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 1.) 



MIXING LAWS OF WYOMING. 129 

COPY OF LAWS AND PROCEEDINGS TO BE FILED. 

Sej. 2. A copy of all laws, and the proceedings of each mining: 
d strict shall be filed by the recorder of the district in the office of 
th£: County Clerk and ex-Officio Register of Deeds of the county in 
which the district is situated, which shall be taken as evidence in 
any court having jurisdiction in the matter concerned under such, 
laws or proceedings; and all such laws and proceedings of any 
mining district heretofore filed in the County Clerk's office of the 
proper county, and transcripts thereof duly certified, shall have the 
like effect in evidence. Such copies of laws and proceedings shall be 
filed in the office of the said County Clerk and ex-Officio Register of 
Deeds ty the recorder of each mining district within sixty days after 
the organization of each new mining district, or within sixty days 
after new law& were adopted or proceedings had. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, 
Sees. 2 and 3.) 

USE OF WATER. 

Sec. 3. Whenever any person, persons or corporation, shall be 
engaged in mining or milling in this state, and in the prosecution of 
such business, shall hoist or bring water from mines or natural water 
courses, such person, persons or corporation shall have the right to 
uso such water in such manner, and direct it into such natural course 
or guich as their business interests may require; provided, that such 
diversion shall not infringe on vested rights. The provisions of this 
section shall not be construed to apply to new or undeveloped mines, 
but to those only which shall have been open and require drainage or 
other direction 01' water. (b. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 4.) 

MINING CLAIMS SUBJECT TO RIGHT OF WAY. 

Sec. 4. All mining claims or property now located, or which may 
hereafter be located, within this state, shall be subject to the right of 
way of any ditch or flume for mining purposes, or of any tramway,. 
pack trail or wagon road, whether now in use, or which may here- 
after to laid out across any such location, claim or property; pro- 
vided, always, that such right of way shall not be exercised against 
any- mining location, claim or property duly made and recorded as 
he.-ein required, and not abandoned prior to the establishment of any 
such ditch, flume, tramway, pack trail or wagon road, without the' 
consent of the owner or owners, except in condemnation, as in the 
case of land taken for public highways. Consent to the location of 
the easements above enumerated over any mineral claim, location or 
property, shall be in writing; and provided, further, that any such" 
ditch or flume shall be so constructed that water therefrom shall not 
injure vested rights by flooding or otherwise. (S. L. 1888. Ch. 40,. 
Seo. 5.) 

PROTECTION OF SURFACE PROPRIETORS. 

Ssc. 5. Where a mining right exists in any case and is separate 
from the ownership or right of occupancy to the surface, such owner 
or rightful occupant of the said surface may demand satisfactory 
security from the miner or miners, and if such security is refused, 
such owner or occupant of the surface may enjoin the miner or 
miners from working such mine until such security is given. The 
order for such injunction shall fix .the amount of the bond therefor. 
O. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec.6.) 

RELOCATION CERTIFICATES. 
Sec. 6. Whenever it shall be apprehended by the locator, or his 
assigns, of any mining claims or property heretofore or hereafter 
located, that his or their original location certificate was defective, 
erroneous, or that the requirements of the law had not been complied 
with before the tiling thereof, or shall be desirous of changing the 
surface boundaries of his or their original claim or location, or of 
taking in any part of an overlapping claim or location which has beer* 

-9 



130 STATE OF WYOMING. 

abandoned, or in case the original certificate was made prior to the 
approval of this law, and he or they shall be desirous of securing the 
benefit 01 this law, such locator or locators, or his or their assigns, 
may tile an additional location certificate in compliance with and sub- 
ject, to this law; provided, however, that such relocation shall not 
infringe upon the rights of others existing at the time of such reloca- 
tion, and that no such relocation, or other record thereof, shall pre- 
clude the claimant or claimants from proving any such title, or titles, 
a& he or they may have ^eld under any previous location. (S. L. 
18S8, Ch. 40, Sec. 7.) 

LOCATION CERTIFICATES SHALL DESCRIBE BUT ONE CLAIM. 
Sec. 7. No location certificate shall contain more than one claim 
or location, whether the location be made by one or more locators, 
and any location certificate that contains upon its face more than one 
location claim shall be absolutely void, except as to the first location 
named and described therein, ana in case more than one claim or loca- 
tion is described together, so that the first one cannot be distin- 
guished from the others, the certificate of location shall be void as an 
entirety. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 8.) 

STEALING MINING CLAIMS— PENALTY— EVIDENCE. 
Sec. 8. In all cases when two or more persons shall, through 
collusion or otherwise, associate themselves together for the purpose 
oi' obtaining possession of any lode, gulch or placer, or other mineral 
claim or mining property within this state, then in the actual posses- 
sion of another or others, by force and violence, or threats of violence, 
or by stealth, and shall proceed to carry out such purpose by making 
threats to and against the party or parties in' possession, or who 
shall enter upon such lode, ^ulch, placer or other mineral claim or 
mining property for the purposes aforesaid, or who shall enter upon or 
into mineral claim or mining property; or, not being on such mining 
claim or mineral property, but within hearing of the same, shall make 
any threats or any use of any language, signs, gestures, intended to 
intimidate any person or persons in possession or at work on the said 
claim or claims of mineral property of whatever kind or nature, from 
continuing such possession or work thereon or therein, or to intimi- 
date others from engaging to be employed thereon or therein, every 
such person or persons so engaging shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, 
and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined in a penal sum not exceed- 
ing two hundred and fifty dollars, and be imprisoned in the county 
jail for not less than thirty days, nor more than six months, or by 
both such fine and imprisonment. On trial of any person or persons 
charged with any of the offerjses enumerated in this section, the proof 
of a common purpose of two or more persons to unlawfully secure 
possession of any mining claim or mineral property within the state. 
or to intimidate any one in the possession of, or laborers at work on 
any mining claim or mineral property aforesaid, accompanied or fol- 
lowed by any acts or utterances of such person or persons as herein 
enumerated, shall be sufficient evidence to convict any one committing 
such acts, although such parties may not be associated or acting 
'together at the time of the commission of such offenses. (S. L. 1888, 
Ch. 40, Sec. 9.) 

DESTROYING MINING PROPERTY— PENALTY. 
Sec. 9. Any person or persons who shall unlawfully cut down, 
break down, level, demolish, destroy, injure, remove or carry away 
any sign, notice, post, mark, monument or fence upon or around any 
shaft, pit, hole, incline or tunnel, or any building, structure, machin- 
ery, implements or other property on any mining claim or mineral 
property, ground or premises, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and 
upon conviction thereof, shall be fined a penal sum of money not less 
than fifty dollars, nor more than one thousand dollars, or be impris- 



MINING LAWS OF WYOMING. 131 

oned for not less than thirty days nor more than one year, or by both 
such fine and imprisonment, in the discretion of the court, (S. L. 
18:8, Ch. 40, Sec. 10.) 

MINING SWINDLES— PENALTY. 
Se^-. 10. Any person or persons who shall defraud, cheat, swindle 
or deceive any party or parties in relation to any mine or mining 
property by '"salting," or by placing or causing to be placed in any 
lode, placer or other mine, any genuine metals or material represent- 
ing genuine minerals, which are designed to cheat and deceive others, 
for the purpose of gain, whereby others shall be deceived and injured 
by such, shall be guilty of a felony, and upon conviction thereof, shall 
be fined in a penal sum of not less than fifty dollars, and not more 
than five thousand dollars, or imprisoned in the penitentiary for not 
more than three years or both fine and imprisonment, in the discre- 
tion o.; the court. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 11.) 

PROTECTION OF LIVE STOCK FROM MINING SHAFTS— PEN- 
ALTY FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT. 

Sec. 11. Every person, persons, company or corporation, who 
"have already sunk mining shafts, pits, holes, inclines, upon any 
mining claim, or on any mineral property, ground or premises, or 
who may hereafter sink such openings aforesaid, shall forthwith 
tecme si:ch shafts and openings against the injury or destruction of 
l.ve stock running at large upon the public domain, by securely cov- 
ering such shafts and other openings, as aforesaid, in a manner to 
render them sa.e against the possibility of live stock falling into them, 
cr in any manner becoming injured or destroyed thereby; or by 
forthw th me king a strong, secure and ample fence around such shafts 
fnd other openings afoiesaid. Any person, persons, corporation or 
com-cany that shall fail or refuse to fully comply with the provisions 
of this cection, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and on conviction 
thereox, shall be liable for any damages sustained by injury or loss 
oJ llvo stock thereby. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 12.) 
LENGTH OF LODE CLAIM. 

Sej. 12. The length of any lode mining claim located within 
Wyoming, shall not exceed fifteen hundred feet, measured horizon- 
taUy, along such lode or vein. Nor can the regulations of any mining 
district limit a locator to less than this length. (S. L. 188, Ch. 40, 
See. 13) 

WIDTH OF LODE CLAIM. 

Sej. 13. The width of any lode claim located within Wyoming 
s'aali not exceed three hundred feet on each side of the discovery 
Fha't, the discovery shaft being always equally distant from the side 
I'res of the claims. Nor can any mining district limit the locator 
tT a, width of less than one hundred and fifty feet on either side of the 
disccvery sha't. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 14.) 
RECORDING MINING CLAIMS— REQUISITES OF CERTIFICATES. 

Sec. 14. A discoverer of any mineral lead, lode, ledge or vein 
^hTll. within sixty days from the date of discovery, cause such claim 
to be lecorded in the office of the County Clerk and ex-Officio Register 
o' Deeds of the county within which such claim may exist, by a loca- 
tion cerrificatG which shall contain the following facts: 

1. The name of the lode claim. 

2. The name or names of the locator or locators. 

3. The date of location. 

4. The length of the claim along the vein, measured each way 
from the center of the discovery shaft, and the general course of the 
vein as far as it is known. 

5. The amount of surface ground claimed on either side of the 
center of the discovery shaft or discovery workings. 



132 STATE OF WYOMING. 

6. A description of the claim by such designation of natural or 

fixed objects, or if, upon ground surveyed by the United States system. 

of land survey,, by reference to section or quarter section corners, as. 

shall identify the claim beyond question. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 108, Sej. 1.) 

IMPERFECT CERTIFICATES, VOID. 

Sec. 15. Any certificate of the location of a lode claim which, 
shall not fully contain all the requirements named in the preceding 
section, together with such other description as shall identify the 
lode or claim with reasonable certainty, shall be void. (S. L. 1888, 
Ch. 40, Sec. 16.) 

PRE-REQUISITES TO FILING LOCATION CERTIFICATE. 

Sec. 16. Before the filing of a location certificate in the office of 
the County Clerk and ex-Officio Register of Deeds, the discoverer of 
any Icde, vein or fissure shall designate the location thereof as fol- 
lows: 

1. By sinking a shaft upon the discovered lode or fissure, to the 
depth of ten feet from the lowest part of the rim of such shaft at the 
surface. • 

2. By posting at the point of discovery' on the surface, a plain, 
sign or notice, containing the name of the lode or claim, the name of 
the discoverer or locator, and the date of such discovery. 

3. By marking the surface boundaries of the claim, which shall 
be marked by six substantial monuments of stone or posts, hewed or 
marked on the side or sides, which face is toward the claim and sunk 
in the ground, one at each corner, and one at the center of each side 
line, and when thus marking the boundaries of a claim, if any one or 
more of such posts or monuments of stone shall fall, by necessity, 
upon precipitor.s ground, wh-en the proper placing of it is impracti- 
cable or dangerous to life or limb, it shall be lawful to place any such 
post or monument of stone at the nearest point, properly marked, to 
designate its right place; provided, that no right to such lode or 
claim or its possession or enjoyment, shall be given to any person or 
persons, unless such person or persons shall discover in said claim 
mineral bearing rock in place. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 17.) 

WHAT OPEN CUT EQUIVALENT TO DISCOVERY SHAFT. 
Sec. 17. Any open cut which shall cut the vein ten feet in length, 
and with face ten feet in heighth, or any cross-cut tunnel, or tunnel 
on the vein ten feet in length which shall cut the vein ten feet below 
the surface, measured from the bottom of such tunnel, shall hold such 
lode the same as if a discovery shaft were sunk thereon. (S. L. 1888, 
Ch. 40, Sec. 18.) 

TIME GIVEN DISCOVERER TO SINK SHAFT. 

Sec. 18. The discoverer of any mineral lode or vein in this state 
shall have the period of sixty days from the date of discovering such 
lode or vein, in which to sink a discovery shaft thereon. (S. L. 1895, 
Ch. 108, Sec. 2.) 

MINERAL BOUNDARIES DEFINED. 

Sec. 19. The locators of all mining locations heretofore made, or 
which shall hereafter be made, on any mineral vein, lode or ledge, 
situated on the public domain, their heirs and assigns, shall have the 
exclusive right of possession and enjoyment of all the surface in- 
cluded with in the lines of their locations, and of all veins, lodes and 
ledges throughout their entire depth, the top or apex of which lies 
inside of surface lines extended downward vertically, although such 
veins, lodes or ledges may so far depart from a perpendicular in their 
course downward as to extend outside the vertical side lines of such 
surface locations. But their right of possession to such outside parts 
of such veins or ledges shall be confined to such portions thereof as 
lie between vertical planes drawn downward as above described,. 



MINING LAWS OF WYOMING. 133 

thiough the end lines ol their locations, so continued in their own 
direction that such planes will intersect such exterior parts of such 
veins or ledges. And nothing in this section shall authorize a locator 
or ptSiessor 01 a vein or lode which extends in its downward course 
heycnd the vertical lines of his claim to enter upon the surface of a 
cla.m owned or possessed by another. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 20. 
RELOCATION OF ABANDONED CLAIMS. 

Se:. 20. Any abandoned lode, vein or strata claim may be relo- 
cated and such relocation shall be perfected by sinking a new dis- 
covery shaft and by fixing new boundaries in the same manner, as 
provided for the location oi a new claim; or the relocator may sink 
the original discovery shaft ten feet deeper than it was at the time 
01; its abandonment, and erect new, or adopt the old boundaries, 
renewing, the pests or monuments of stone, ii' removed or destroyed. 
In either event, a new location stake shall.be fixed. The location 
■certificate of an abandoned claim may state that the whole or any 
part of the new location is located as an abandoned claim. (S. L. 
1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 21.) 

LOCATION CERTIFICATES OF PLACER CLAIMS. 

Sec. 21. That hereafter the discoverer of any placer claim shall, 
within thirty days 01 the date of discovery, record such claim with 
the recorder of the mining district in v/hich it is situated, if such dis- 
tric; be organized, and shall within ninety days from the date of 
discovery, cause to be recorded such claim in the office of the County 
Clerk and ex-Officio Register of Deeds of the county within which 
s.ch clam may exist, by a location certificate, which shall contain 
-in either or both cases the following facts: 

1. Tho name of the claim, designating it as a placer claim. 

1". The name or names of the locator or locators thereoi'. 

3. The date of location. 

4. Tho number of feet or acres thus claimed. 

5. A description of the claim by such designation of natural or 
Ifixed objects as shall identify the claim beyond question. Before 
filing such location certificate, the discoverer shall locate his claim; 
first, by securely fixing upon such claim a notice, in plain painted, 
printed or written letters, containing the name of the claim, the name 
of the locator or locators, the date of discovery, and the number of 
feet or acres claimed; second, by designating the surface boundaries 
iDy substantial posts or stone monuments at each corner of the claim. 
(S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 22.) 

ASSESSMENT WORK ON PLACER CLAIMS. 

Sec. 22. For every placer claim, assessment work, as hereinafter 
provided, shall be done during each and every calendar year after the 
fii st day of January following the date of location. Such assessment 
work shall consist in manual labor, permanent improvements made 
en the claim in buildings, reads or ditches made for the benefit of 
"workmg such claims, or after any manner, so long as the work done 
accrues to the improvement of the claim, or shows good faith and 
intention on the part of the owner or owners, and their intention to 
hold po:sessicn of said claim. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 23.) 
AMOUNT OF ASSESSMENT WORK. 

Sec. 23. On placer claim.s of an area of one hundred and sixty 
acres heretofore or hereafter located in this state, and not situated 
in an organized district, not less than one hundred dollars' worth of 
assessment wcrk shall be performed during each calendar year, from 
the first day of Janu-^rv after the date of location. On every placer 
mming claim £0 locatel, of less than one hundred and sixty acres, the 
amouut Oi annua' assessment work shall be at the rate of sixty-two 
and one -half cents per acre for each and every acre and fraction 
thereof; provided, that the total ampunt to be annually expended 
he in no case less than fifteen dollars. (S. L. 1888. Ch. 40. Sec. 23'.) 



134 STATE OF WYOMING. . 

ASSESSMENT WORK UPON CONTIGUOUS CLAIMS. 
Sec. 24. When two or more placer mining claims lie contiguous 
and are ownea by the same person, persons, company or corporation, 
the yearly expenditure oi labor and improvements lequired on each 
of such claims may be made upon any one of such contiguous claims,, 
if the owner or owners shall thus prefer. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 23.) 

i?iMOUNT OF ASSESSMENT WORK MAY BE REGULATED BY 
MINING DISTRICT. 
Sec. 25. Where such placer claims are situated in an organized 
mining disitinot, or it they are linaily embraced in such a district, then 
the amount oi assessment work and the manner of its accomplishment 
shall to regulated entirely by the district laws, whether the amount 
Oj! work required annually be greater or less than the amount here- 
inberore set forth as required of placer claims not located in such 
districts. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 23.) 

EFFECT OF FAILURE TO DO ASSESSMENT WORK. 
Se3. 2G. Upon failure of the owners to do or have done the 
assessment work required within the time above stated, such claim 
or claims upon which such work has not been completed, shall there- 
after be open to relocation on or after the first day of January of any 
year after such labor or improvements should have teon done, in 
the same manner and on the same terms as if no location thereof had 
ever been made; provided, that the original locators, their heirs, 
assigns or legal representatives have not resumed work upon such 
claim or claims after failure, and before any subsequent location 
haa been made. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 23.) 

AFFIDAVIT OF ASSESSMENT WORK DONE. 

Sec. 27. Upon completion of the required assessment work for 
any mining claim, the owner or owners, or agent of said owner or 
owners, shall cause to be made by some person engaged in performing 
the work, an affidavit setting forth that the required amount of work 
was performed, which affidavit shall, within thirty days after the 
completior. Ol the work, be recorded in the office of the recorder of 
the d strict in which the claim is situated, if such be organized, or if 
such d str.ct be not organized, such affidavit shall, within sixty days 
of completion of the work, be filed for record in the office of the 
County Clerk and ex-Officio Register of Deeds of the county in which 
said claim, ^s located. (S. L. 1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 23.) 
PATENTS TO PLACER CLAIMS. 

Sec, 28. When any peison, persons or association, they and their 
grantors have held and worked their placer claims in conformance 
with the laws of this state and the regulations of the mining district 
in which such claim exists, if such be organized, for five successive 
years after the fi: st day of January succeeding the date of location, 
then such person, persons or association, they and their grantors, 
shall be entitled to proceed to obtain a patent for their claims from 
the United States without performing further work; but where such 
person, persons or asosciation, they and their grantors, desire to 
obtain a United States patent before the expiration of five years from 
the dato hsrelnbelore mentioned, they shall be required to expend at 
le"!St five himdred dollars' worth of work upon a placer claim. (S. L. 
1888, Ch. 40, Sec. 24.) 

MINERS' LABOR LIEN. 

Sec. 29. Every miner, or other person, who, at the request of the 
owner of any ledge or lode of quartz bearing gold, silver, lead, cinna- 
tar or copper, or any coal bank or mine, shall work in or upon said 
mine or bank, or do assessment woi'k upon or in any mining claim, 
lode cr placer, or upon or in any sod , wel or lake, oil well or spring, 



PROPERTY VALUATION. 135 

shall have a lien upon such vein or lode, mine or bank, well, lake or 
spring, to the amount due at anytime, when a demand shall be made 
upon such owner, or his or their agent, for money due for such labor, 
and payment shall be refused. (S. L. 1897, Ch. 62, Sec. 1.) 
NOTICE OF MINERS' LABOR LIEN. 

Sec. 30. When any sum, exceeding ten dollars, for labor per- 
formed by any miner, or other person upon, or in any mine or coal 
bank specified in this chapter, shall be due and unpaid for ten days, 
it shall be competent for the person or persons to whom such sum of 
money shall be due, to file a notice in the ofRce of the County Clerk 
in the county where such mine is situated, at any time within six 
months after the last day upon which work was done by him. Which 
said notice shall, in substance, set forth the fact that the party per- 
formed the labor (naming the kind) for a party or company (naming 
the party cr company), that such labor was performed under a con- 
trac*". (stating the substance); also, the time when the party com- 
merced and ceased to work, the amount still due and unpaid, together 
with a description of the mine or coal bank upon which such work 
wcs performed, which statement shall be verified by the affidavit of 
the parly so filing it, and when filed, the County Clerk shall record 
the same in a "lien book," the same as required in the case of me- 
chanic's notice of lien. (S. L. 1897, Ch. 64, Sec. 1.) 

COAL MINES NOT INCLUDED IN THIS CHAPTER. 

NOTE. — With the exception of Sees. 27 and 30, none of the provis- 
ions of the foregoing sections of the mining laws apply to the working 
o! coal mines. 



STATEMENT. 

Showing the property valuations of the year 1897 compared with 
the year 1896: 

Property Assessed. Value, 1896. Value, 1897. 

Railroad and car companies' property.. $ 7,533,047.50 $ 7,541,623.50 

Telegraph lines 107,186.50 98,570.00 

Land and improvements 6,858,549.96 6,893,626.12 

Town lots and improvements 5,439,383.50 5,302,036.34 

Cattle 3,732,558.00 4,020,548.00 

Horses 1,037,009.00 1,038,027.00 

Mules and asses 51,224 . 50 51,124 . 00 

Sheep and goats 2,317,084.50 2,506,286.00 

Swine and dogs 14,326.25 20,870.35 

Musical instruments 58,368.00 58,643.00 

Clocks, watches and jewelry 27,310.00 32,697.26 

Capital in merchandise and manufact- 
ures 1,367,779.40 1.467,822.00 

Carriages and wagons 200,355.75 217,304.16 

Moneys and credits after deducting 

debts 442,043.08 413,001.00 

St3ck in corporations 214,629.00 61,365.00 

Insurance premiums over losses 16,225.00 • 

Farming utensils and mechanics' tools. 122,892.00 133,766.00 

Private libraries 19,298 . 00 19,130 . 00 

Household furniture ($100 exempt) 112,802.80 88,013.63 

0-her property 356,621.91 336,008.95 

Totals $30,028,694.65 $30,300,462.31 



17^6 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



Post Offices in Wyoming, 





ALBANY COUNTY. 




Binford 


Owen 


Springhill 


Centenial 


Pollock 


Summit 


Hatton 


Redbuttes 


Tie Siding 


Laramie 


Rockcreek 


Toltec 


Little Medicine 


Sherman 


Woods 


Lookout 


Sibylee 


Wyoming 


Moore 


BIG HORN COUNTY. 




Alamo 


Frannie 


Middleton 


Basin 


Hart man 


Null 


Bonanza 


Hyattville 


Otto 


Burlington 


Ishavyood 


Redbank 


Clark 


Jordan 


Sarver " 


Coburn 


Kane 


Shell 


Cody 


Kirvvin 


Sunshine 


Corbett 


Lovell 


Tensleep 


Embar 


Marquette 


Thermopolis 


Fenton 


, Meeteetse 

CARBON COUNTY. 


Wise 


Baggs 


Ferris 


Morgan 


Bennett 


Fort Fred Steele 


Percy 


Carbon 


French 


Rawlins 


Collins 


Hanna 


Rockdale 


Dana 


Harrison 


Saratoga 


Dixon 


Leo 


Widdowfield 


Elk Mountain 


Mead 


Willows 


Encampment 


Medicine Bow 
CONVERSE COUNTY. 




Beaver 


FLatcreek 


Manville 


Boxelder 


Inez 


Orin 


Carey hurst 


Kirtley 


Ross 


Doug-las 


Labonte 


Royston 


Glen rock 


Lostsprings 


Theresa 


Guthrie 


Lusk 


Voorhees 



r(3STOFFICES 



37 



J\lva 

Barrett 

Beulah 

Carlile 

Carroll 

Eothen 

Farrall 

Felix 



-Arapahoe 

Agency 
Atlantic City 
Bruce 
Cleo 
Cora 
Dallas 
Deranch 
Debois 



Buffalo 

Eureka 

Greub 



Archer 

Areola 

Ariosa 

Badger 

Bordeaux 

Borie 

Cheyenne 

Chugwater 

Davisranch 

Diamond 

Egbert 

Fairbank 

Fort Larami( 

Fort Russell 



Alcova 
Berth aton 
Bessemer 
Casper 



CROOK COUNTY, 

Forest 

Folks 

Gillette 

Hulett 

Inyr<nkara 

Linden 

Manhattan 

FRBMONl COUNTY. 



Mona 

Moorcroft 

Morse 

Omstead 

Oxus 

Sundance 

Welcome 



Fort Washakie 


Miners' Delight 


Hailey 


Myersyille 


Lander 


Newfork 


Leckie 


Rongis 


Leesdale 


Saint Stephens 


Lewiston 


Shoshone 


Lost Cabin 


Agency 


Lyons 


South Pass' City 


Milford 




JOHNSON COUNTY. 




Kearney 


Sussex 


Mayoworth 


Trabing 


Ono 


Twaton 


LARAMIE COUNTY. 




Frederick 


Little Horse 


Glendo 


Macfarlane 


Goldsmith 


Meriden 


Granite Canyon 


Patrick 


Grant 


Phillips 


Hartyille 


Pinebluff 


Hecla 


Pratt 


Hillsdale 


Saleiti 


Iron Mountain 


South Bend 


Islay 


Torrington 


Jetsam 


Trelona 


Lagrange 


Twobar 


Lakeyiew 


Uya 


Little Bear 


W heatland 


NATRONA COUNTY. 




Eryay 


Splitrock 


Freeland 


Winthrop 


Tohnsto\yn 


Wolton 



I3S 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



SHERIDAN COUNTY. 



Arvada 


Bigred 


Ranchester 


Baldmountain 


Clearmont 


Sheridan 


Banner 


Dayton 


Slack 


Beckton 


Higby 


Wolf 


Big Horn 


Park man 
SWEETWATER COUNTY. 




Almond 


Piper 


Granger 


Bittercreek 


Rock Springs 


Greenriver 


Blackbiittes 


Sweetwater 


Lucerne 


Bryan 


Watnsutter 


Maxon 


Creston 


UINTA COUNTY. 




Afton 


Evanston 


Labarge 


Almy 


Fairview 


Lonetree 


Aspen 


Fontenelle 


^Midway 


Auburn 


Fort Bridger 


Opal 


Beckwith 


Fossil 


Piedmont 


Bigpiney 


Freedom 


Redcanon 


Burntfork 


Grover 


Robertson 


Carter 


Hamsfork 


Stanley 


CokeviUe 


Hilliard 


Thayne 


Diamondville 


Jackson 


Viola 


Elk 


WESTON COUNTY. 




Boyd 


Merino 


Newcastle 


Cambria 







NATIONAL PARK RESERVATION. 

Mammoth Hot Springs 




NEWSPAPERS OF WYOMING. 



139 



Wist of Wyoming Newspapers. 



NAME. CITY. 

Laramie Republican* Laramie . . 

Laramie Boomerang"^ Laramie . . 

Times. Laramie . . 

Wyoming; Dispatch Basin City 



COUNTY 

Albany . . 
Albany . . 
.Albany .. 
Big Horn . 



Big Horn County Rustler. . Hyattville Big Horn. 

Big Horn County News Meeteetse Big Horn . 

Courier Otto Big Horn. 

Carbon County Journal . . . .Rawlins Carbon . . . 

Raw lins Republicanf Rawlins Carbon . . . 

Saratoga Sun Saratoga Carbon . . . 

Platte Valley Lyre Saratoga Carbon . . . 

Grand Encampment Herald. Encampment Carbon. . . 

Bill Barlow's Budget Douglas Converse . 

Wyoming News Douglas Converse . 

Herald Lusk Converse . 

Gazette Sundance Crook. . . . 

Monitor Sundance Crook. . . . 

Big Horn River Pilot Thermopolis ....... Fremont . 

Clipper 1 .ander Fremont . 

Indian Ciuide Shoshone Agency . . Fremont . 

Mountaineer . Lander Fremont . 

Bulletin Buffalo Johnson . . 

Voice Buffalo ... Johnson . . 

Sun Leader '•'. : Cheyenne Laramie. . 

W'yoming Tribune* Cheyenne Laramie. . 

World Wheatland Laramie . , 

Tribune Casper Natrona . . 

Derrick Casper Natrona . . 

Enterprise Sheridan Sheridan . 

Pest Sheridan Sheridan . 

New Deal Sheridan Sheridan . 

Record Dayton Sheridan . 

Miner Rock Springs Sweetwater 

Democrat Rock Springs Sweetwater 

News- Register Evanston Uinta 

Herald Evanston . '. Uinta 

Wyoming Press Evan.ston Uinta 

Camera Kemmerer. .Uinta 

News-Journal New Castle Weston . . . 

L)emoGrat New Castle Weston . . 

* Daily and Weekly. 

f Semi Weekly 



EDITORS. 

.W. E. Chaplin 
. P. E. Lowe 
.F. W. Ott 
,W. H. Hunt 

Daggett & Somers 
.C. H. Bebb 
.Lou Blakesly 
, Will Reid 
, Geo. W. Perry 
. y. F. Crawford 
.Gertrude Huntington 
. Drury Bros. 

M. C. Barrow 

.James Mayes 
,J. A. Mc Naught 
.Joe Lytle 

,C. G. Coutant 
W\ P. Campbell 
Cora V. Preston 
Mary M. Parmelee 

.G. E. A. Moeller 
. E. A. .^lack 
. P^ank Bond 
. L O. Middaugh 

A. [. Moekler 
. P. C. Hayes 

John S. Taylor 

C. P.P. Story 

.M. C. Green 
^L W. Neevins 
.Robert Smith 
. Pyles (^ Ewing 
.J. U. Allard 
, W. T. Shaffer 
. G. A xMcArthur 
.C. P. Diehl 
. A. P. Putnam 
. H. A. Alden 



I40 STATE OF WYOMING. 



YELLONA/^STONE PARK. 



BY GEORGE S. MARX. 

The Yellowstone Park occupies an area reported as sixty- 
two miles long by fifty-six and one-half miles wide, making 
nearly four thousand square miles. ' It lies in the northwest 
corner of Wyoming, with the exception of about two miles 
which project over the southern border of Montana, and a strip 
of about the same wndth extending into Idaho on the west. It 
can be described as a region of hot springs, of geysers, moun- 
tains, canyons, lakes, rivers and waterfalls, the scenic beauty 
and grandeur of which are not excelled by any locality. Here 
are found the largest and most numerous geysers in the world, 
seme of which throw up columns of boiling water in streams to 
a great heighth, while there are thousands of bubbling hot 
springs in whose depth are reflected all the prismatic colors of 
the rainbow\ 

The Mammoth Hot Springs, the Golden Gate, the Grand 
Canyon, a deep gorge twenty miles long and twelve hundred 
feet deep, the falls of the Yellowstone, one of which has a fall 
of three hundred and sixty feet, and the Yellowstone lake, a 
body of water lying in the southern central part of the park, of 
irregular shape, and about thirty miles long, are some of the 
more noticeable scenic features of the park. 

It is an ideal place for camping parties traveling by private 
conveyance, an d also for those who prefer transportation by 
regular stages. The hotel , accommodations are pleasant and 
comfortable. 

Since the act of Congress setting aside this portion of 
Wyoming as a national park, there has also been reserved by 
act of Congress a strip of heavily timbered land on both the 
south and east sides of the park proper, making an immense 
strip cf pine forest reserved for no other purpose than to protect 
the stately pines, the destruction of which would not only 
detract from the beauty of this region . but work incalculable 
dlimag^e to streams that have their headwaters in these forests. 

The landscape in the timber reserve differs from that in the 
park only in the absence of the natural curiosities which make 
the latter so attractive and interesting. 

While b">th the park and the reserve are within the bound- 
ary lines cf ihe state of Wyoming, the government and control 
is a special one under the authority of the Federal Government. 



FISHING AND HUNTING. 141 



HUNTING AND FISHING, 



Wyoming has long been known as a field for sportsmen in 
search of large game, and hundreds of tourists annually hunt 
within its borders. 

For nearly eighty years the hardy trapper penetrated the 
wilds of Wyoming in search of beaver, and in 1890 the Legisla- 
ture of the territory passed an act prohibiting their capture for 
a period of ten years, in order to prevent their extermination. 
This act, repealed and re-enacted in 1895, protects beaver until 
the year 1900. From Strahorn's Handbook of W^^oming we 
quole: ''We have it from reliable authority that the hardy 
spirits of northwestern fur companies trapped no less than 
3,000,000 beaver along the northern range of mountains pre- 
vious to 1825" — a statement which tells the whole story of 
early pioneering, with its train of thrilling episodes and soul- 
trying emergencies. 

, If 3,000,000 beaver were trapped in this state before 1825,, 
it is impossible to even estimate the millions trapped in the last 
seventy years. Beaver increase rapidly when undisturbed, and 
their villages are found in immediate proximity to the ranches 
near the mountains. 

The protection extended to them by the, ranchmen gener- 
ally has resulted in an appreciable increase in their numbers, 
and many of their former haunts have become re-populated. 

For many years game was killed for food purposes at all 
seascnsand in unlimited quantities, but it has been deemed best 
to restrict the open season for elk, deer and antelope to the 
months of September, October and November, and to make the 
sale of wild game unlawful at all times. 

Stringent laws have been enacted for the protection of the 
few bison preserved in the Yellowstone National Park in case 
they wander into Wyoming, and it is unlawful to kill or pursue 
or remove any buf¥alo from the state. 

The National Park being the great game preserve of the 
west, it naturally follows that the best hunting is to be found 
in the adjacent country, and that part of the country known as 
Jackson's Hole is, perhaps, better supplied with big game than 
any other part of the state. 



142 



STATE OF WYOMING. 



In southern Wyoming elk, deer, bear, mountain lions and 
mountain sheep are found on the rugged heights of the Sierra 
Madre and Medicine Bow ranges. 

The Big Horn range, in the north central part of the state, 
has long been known as a popular hunting ground for mountain 
sheep, as well as for the other species of game named above. 

Antelope seem to be increasing in number in the past few 
years, and are to be seen on. the plains in all parts of the state. 

Sage chickens and grouse are to be found in abundance on 
the plains and in the mountains. 

The first settlers in Wyoming discovered that the streams 
on the eastern slope of the continental divide did not contain 
trout such as were plentiful in the streams running into the 
Pacific ocean. The exception to this rule was in the National 
Park and the headwaters of the Yellowstone and Big Horn 
rivers. This is supposed to be by reason of a remarkable creek 
known as Two Ocean creek, which divides at Two Ocean pass, 
sending one branch to the Atlantic and the other towards the 
Pacific ocean, and through which trout can obtain a passage 
to the headwaters of the Yellowstone, and through that river 
stock all its tributaries. 

It was determined to stock ^-lie streams on the Atlantic 
slope with trout, and during the . seven years, snice state- 
hood, the Wyoming Fish Commissioner has distributed 
4,373,coo fish fry among the different streams, the greater 
number being planted in the North Platte and Laramie rivers 
and their tributaries, which penetrate the region once without 
native trout. The smaller streams in the northern part of the 
state have also been thoroughly stocked, and afiford fine sport. 
The principal varieties of . fish distributed have been the 
Eastern Brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), Rainbow trout 
(Salmo iredeus). Black-spotted Mountain trout (Salmo mykiss), 
the native trout found on the Pacific slope, the German Brown 
trout (Salmo fario), and a number of pike, which have been 
planted in the small lakes in eastern Wyoming. 

These fish have made a wonderful growth, and brook trout 
weighing five pounds, and Rainbow trout weighing eleven 
pounds have been caught in the Platte river near Saratoga. 

The Green river and tributaries being supplied with native 
trout, have needed little attention, although some of the west- 
ern streams have been stocked with the Rainbow and Brook 
trout with great success. 

The trout fishing in the headwaters of the Snake river is 
unsurpassed, possibly, in the world, while thousands of fine 
trout are caught in the North Platte and Laramie rivers, and 
in the streams in the Big Horn mountains. 



FISHING AND HUNTING. 143 



EXTRACT FROM GAME LAWS.— IN FORCE JULY 1, 1898. 



The male animals only of deer, elk, moose, mountain sheep, 
mountain , goat or antelope may be killed for food purposes only, 
during the months of September, October and November of each year. 
It is unlawful to trap any of the above-named animals or to use dogs 
for the purpose of running or coursing them. It is unlawful to 
obtain by barter or buy any green, tanned or untanned hides or horns 
of any of the animals mentioned above, and it is unlawful for any 
railway, stage or express company to receive for transportation any 
carcass, or part of carcass, except that mounted heads or stuffed birds 
or animals, killed in accordance with law, may be transported to any 
point within or without the state. 

Paitridges, pheasant, prairie ct^icken, prairie hen or grouse may 
be shot from August 15 to P " iDer 1 of each year; sage chicken 
may be shot from July 15 to O*., 6ber 1; wild duck, brant, geese and 
swan may be shot from September 1 to May 1. 

Speckled trout, land-locked salmon, grayling or California trout, 
can be caught with fishing tackle only (consisting of rod or pole, line 
and' hook) during the months of May, June ,July, August and Sep- 
tember. 

It is unlawful to seine, trap or snare any fish or to use any explo- 
sive substance, or poison, in any of the waters of this state for the 
purpose of securing or killing fish. 

Any person, or persons, having in their possession and offering 
for sale, or causing to be offered for sale, any. game, game fish or 
game fowl, killed within the boundaries of the state of Wyoming, 
shall be fined not to exceed one hundred dollars. 

Non-residents of Wyoming may hunt the male animals men- 
tioned above during the months of September, October and November, 
upon procuring a license from a Justice of the Peace, for which a fee 
of twenty dollars is charged. 



144 STATE OF WYOMIXG. 



BRIEF NOTES 



The state of Wyoming welcomes settlers seeking homes, 
and has many inducements to offer. 

To investors the state offers protective laws and good 
opportunities for investment. 

The natural resources of the state justify the expectation 
of great future development. 

The oil belt extends entirely across the state from south- 
west to northeast. 

Natural gas is known to exist at various points adjacent to 
the explored oil belt. 

Excellent brick clay is found and used in every part of the 
state. 

It is well known that potatoes grown by irrigation, as in. 
Wyoming, are of exceptional quality. 

It is equally true that all vegetables and fruit raised in the 
same manner are sound and free from imperfections. 

W'yoming wheat, grown by irrigation, took the first prize- 
at the World's Fair, and. the flour mills of Wyoming manu- 
facture excellent flo\u'. 

A\'}'cming produced seven hundred and forty-four tons of 
coal per annum for each man employed in the mines, an aver- 
age probably exceeded by no other state. 

Alfalfa is an important Wyoming crop, the yield approxi- 
mating four tons per acre. 

Ranchmen combining live stock and agriculture, have been 
very successful. 

Two hundred and ninety-eight thousand six hundred and 
ninety-seven cattle, 79,284 horses and 1,391,795 sheep were 
assessed for taxation in Wyoming in 1897. This number will 
be increased in 1898. Their actual value exceeds $17,000,000. 



BRIEF NOTES, 145 

The wool clip of Wyoming for 1897 approximated 14,000,- 
000 pounds. The average weight, per fleece, was about eiglit 
pounds, and the average price, per pound, eight cents. 

Owners of cattle and sheep are rapidly improving the 
grades of their herds and flocks. 

It is estimated that one-quarter of the area of Wyoming is 
underlaid with coal, the seams varying from two to seventy-live 
feet in thickness. 

In many localities ranchmen obtain their fuel from veins 
opened in the immediate vicinity of their homes. 

In other localities they secure fuel, and also timber for 
huildii g purposes, from the adjacent mountains. 

Food fish are now found in almost every lake and stream 
in the state. 

The climate of Wyoming is healthful, mild, equable and 
invigorating; ccol in summer and mild in winter, with but few 
snowstorms until early spring. 

W^yoming will be noted as a resort for the sick in search 
of health. It contains many wonderful hot springs, whose 
curative properties are well known, but which are as yet remote 
from railroad communications. 

' Large areas of state lands have been set aside for the 
benefit of the schools, and the income from this source is rap- 
idly increasing. 

The educational advantages of the state are a matter of 
pride to its citizens. 

In 1897 there were 11,937 pupils enrolled in the public 
schobls of the state. 

Of one thousand young men who enlisted in Wyoming 
during June, 1898, not one was unable to sign his name to the 
muster roll, and every man had received a fair education. 

Wyoming furnished more volunteers for the United States 
army, in proportion to population, than any other state in the 
Union, and with fewer rejections, in proportion to the number 
examined. 

It is a feature of the public buildings of Wyoming that they 
fully represent the amount invested in them, nor has the state 
been over-burdened with debt for their construction, 

19 



146 STATE OF WYOMING. 

Yellowstone P'ark, Jackson Hole, Big Horn basin and 
many other localities furnish beautiful places of recreation 
during the summer months. 

It is a peculiarity of the native grasses that they cure upon 
the stalk, retaining all their nutriment, thus affording excellent 
winter pasturage for live stock. 

Wyoming has a State Veterinarian, and careful inspection 
and prompt action combine to exterminate all cases of con- 
tagious diseases among animals brought into the state. Out- 
side of an occasional case of glanders among horses and scab 
among sheep, there are no contagious diseases among animals. 
District sheep inspectors exterminate scab in sheep wherever 
found. 

The valleys of the North Platte and Big Horn rivers, with 
elevations cf from 3,000 to 7,000 feet, extending several hun- 
dred miles, and the lands lying near the smaller tributaries, 
afi'ord opportunities for thousands of farmers to acquire land 
and carry on farming and stock raising successfully, while the 
development of the mineral wealth of the state will furnish a 
market for their production. 

On August 30, 1890, W. J. Sturgis of Johnson county, 
harvested the largest crop of potatoes ever grown on one acre 
of ground, namely, nine hundred and seventy-four bushels and 
forty-eight pounds. - Of these, eight hundred and thirty-eight 
bushas and forty pounds were merchantable, and one hundred 
and thirty-six bushels and eight pounds were small. These 
potatoes sold for a net profit of seven hundred and fourteen 
dollars, exclusive cf two prizes of two hundred and fifty dollars 
each, given by the American Agriculturist and the state of 
Wyoming. 

The number of homestead entries in the Cheyenne Land 
Office during May, 1898, was gi'eater than during any previous 
month for four years preceding. 

Persons desiring information concerning the agricultural 
possibilities of the state, should read the articles in this volume 
by Professors Mead and Bufifum, 

Those desiring information concerning the mineral re- 
sonrces, are referred to the article by Professor Knight. 



ELEVATION OF CITIES. 



H7 



Elevation of Wyoming Cities, 



City. Ellevaitlon. 

(feet.) 

A.IoaT'a «,000 

Atlianltic City 7,850 

Bnffailo . . 4,600 

Baisin 3,400 

Oambiia 5,400 

Ciaisipieir 5,1'1« 

CaJi'booi 6,821 

Chiey emiie 6,050 

Clieyeaiiie (Oapito'l) . 6,101 

Douiglais 4,816 

■Ev'aiii>3it'0ii 6,759 

Embar 5,900 

Fort Laramie ..... .' ' 4,270 

Fcrt Sltee'le 6,505 

FoTt Wais^ialde 5,462 

Fo'i't Yellcyvviston'e. . 6;370 

Four Beiar 6,500 

Green lliv^ir 6,077 

Gaeiiroiek . 4,900 

Hanua 6,788 



City, Eleva-itioik, 

(feet.) 

.HyaJtt-viiille . , 4,550 

Jaickson's Hole 6,820 

Jackision's Ija(ke. . . . 6,800 

Dander ,5,872 

LTairamie 7,149 

Ijovell ,4,200 

Lusk . 5,007 

Mieldrcine Boiw 6,562 

NeW'Caistle ......... 4,319 

Otto 4,011 

Rawlins . : . 6,744 

'Roiok Springs' , 6,260 

Boiokei^ek 6,704 

Sliierman 8,247 

Sii^riidian - 3,750 

Sun'dance 4,700 

Sairatoga 7,000 

Tlierm>(ypolis 4,600 

Tie Siding 7,890 

W'lieatlanid ........ 4,700 



148 ALTITUDE OF MOUNTAINS. 



Altitude of Mountains. 



l.liame. :Mont3ain Range. Altitiide (feet.) 

Big FlOTn 8,0ija to 12,000 

Hraidley'is Peak 8eminO'e 9,500 

'. )]iitQiney Hock Win:cl Rivei* l%i^'6 

Gloud Peak Big Horn 12,500 

],l'0<u:n't D'oane Yelloiwis'fcone 10,118 

! 01k Mountain Medicine Bo'W 11,511 

l^-^eimioint's Pea»k Wind River 18,570 

Ivrau'd Encamipment Pairk ll,OOCi 

Grand Tebon - , . . Teton 18,t«*l 

I Tijdiex Peaik Yellowston'? . \ 11,740 

fy^ramie Peia'k. 'Laraimie 11,000 

1 ^ad^alniie Ranige ^ 7,000 tto 9,000 

M^d'iiciiTie Peak piaoCk • . 12,5^31 

Ivfedicine Bow. « 8,000 to 12,000 

l/fio'unlt Moran. .Teton 12,000 

I ' unk Range, in Wyoming. 11,500 

PMox Mo^unifcain . Owl Creek 9,136 

r*:J.lot Kno'b. o, Yellowi^toinie 11,97T 

QTiiem Hornet ... . . IJiiatah 9,BO0 

!-;'3i,lor Mmrnjtain 1Q,046 

ivemiinoe Mountains (ihigfliest) 10,501) 

\A^ia:s.hakie Need'les 12,,253 

Mount W^-iishiburn 10,888 

Yoimt PeaTi Yellowistone 12,250 



- -<-s 



f,JHJ 




